Tip #9: Pay Attention to the Background

Here’s the ninth in our 10-part series of articles from Sabra Krock, on how to best capture images of your child.

Have you ever shot something brilliantly only to notice later that there’s an ugly Kleenex box or some other distracting element lurking in the background? I have done this more times than I can count and I always wish that I had noticed it in the moment. Luckily, if there is something small and pesky in a favorite photo, you can usually eliminate it or lessen its impact in the frame using Photoshop. An easier technique is to get in the habit of quickly taking stock of what’s in your camera frame before starting a shoot. Push the dirty laundry and homely toys out of the way before you begin a session. Afterwards, you can push it all back.

This photo was taken of Max with a plain white wall behind that serves as a nice, neutral backdrop. At other times my home is the backdrop but I blur the busy background with my aperture setting to make distractions fade away. (If you missed my post on camera settings, click here.)

This is the ninth installment in a weekly series of posts by Manhattan photographer Sabra Krock on how to take better photographs of your child. Come back next Monday for Tip #10: Experiment With Framing Your Shot.