Have you ever thought you got a great shot of someone, only to check it out on the computer and see a tree going through their head? I have. When photographing people, be very aware of what’s in the background. Before you take that photo, make sure there’s nothing going through or growing out of your subject’s head. It may be funny at the time, but if it’s the only photo you’ve got to remember the day, it’s not so funny any more. It can be really frustrating and involve a lot of computer time to remove the tree. It would have been a lot easier to move the person when taking the photo!
When taking photos of pets, people, or flowers, always check the background! Save yourself some potentially massive amounts of time “cleaning it up” after the fact.
| Before | After |
At one wedding we photographed, we were limited to a particular area of the venue for many of the family shots. It wasn’t wonderful and I knew it. However, there really wasn’t any other area we could use. As you can see looking at the photo on the left, the ceiling in the space had all sorts of “trash” hanging down. Note the box going through the groom’s head. I can assure you, I spent hours on the computer removing all this “trash” – with some success (see right), but it wasn’t fun.
Take the same care when doing macro photography of flowers. The background can be very distracting and totally mess up an award winner. In the photo on the left, the white blob in the background certainly detracts from the photo. It’s a loser. I can say that, because it’s my photo!
When photographing sports, watch for signage, as well as other unwanted stuff in the background. At a rodeo, you really are doing grab shots, so you know before you go that not all photos you take are going to be award winners. A good example of another loser (yes it’s mine) is on the left. There’s signage, a huge blob to her left. Another one for the delete button!
And here’s another one for the delete button. Legs growing out of a boy’s face – yuk!
Whether you’re using a smart phone, point and shoot camera or digital SLR, always check your backgrounds BEFORE you take the shot. Unless you’re writing a How NOT To column, you’ll either end up doing hours of work in Photoshop or hitting the delete button. Far better and easier to do it right when you’re taking the shot.