Background not the best? Just replace it with another!
Introduction
In this article, we shall look at what you can do to try and improve the overall look of photographs at the editing stage. After doing a photoshoot, you will need to view what you have taken and in some cases edit it to remove blemishes, improve the composition, colours or subtle changes to realise a better photo.
One of the major components in your photograph will of course be the background. In most cases, it will be the dominant feature with the subject matter in front. The subject size will vary depending on how you have composed the photograph. Ideally, there should be a balance between the two so that everything looks natural to the eye at first glance.
When reviewing a photograph you should be able to spot pretty quickly if there are any issues with the image. It is a natural trait to look for wrong things, blemishes, people who shouldn’t be there, plus colour and lighting issues. Tidying up all these issues should make the photo better, Yes? To be honest, it may well do. Editing experience is a great tool to have in your locker as a photographer, no matter what your favourite subjects to shoot. You can make an average photograph look decidedly better by utilising a few tools in a software program. With the onset of A.I, future programs will no doubt have more tools that will make editing a whole lot easier than it currently is.
Case Study – Motorcycle Photograph. Spot the Fakes!
Let’s have a bit of fun. Here are a few photographs but can you spot the fakes? How easy is it to look at a photo and know it has been altered in some software program like Photoshop. Take a look and see what you think.
Answer – Spot the fakes
Well, did you spot the fakes? The answer is below the following photograph –
Answer = all the photographs were fakes!
Yes, that’s right they were all fakes. Every image had a fake background imposed. The object of this exercise was to show you how with a bit of time, you could edit photos with background issues and hopefully improve them. I spent hardly any time editing these. I used a software program called CANVA which has a background removal tool. Other programs probably have similar functionality built in that can change photograph backgrounds. Another question to ask at this point is, what about the original photo? What was wrong with that? Let’s have a look.
Original Photograph
| Good Points | Bad Points | ||
| Composition | Urban setting/bare trees | ||
| Lighting | background bit boring? | ||
| Pile of wood | |||
Conclusion
Always take a few shots at different angles if you can. That way you can avoid issues later at the viewing/editing stage.
I have added a table above with a few details about this image. If we had changed the motorcycle shot angle a few degrees, no pallets would have been in the image. We only took the one shot. So sometimes, it pays to take a few shots from different angles, taking into account items in the background. Whilst the background in the original could have been better, it is reality at the end of the day. Making mistakes is part of any learning process. There is a saying, “fake it till you make it”. Try faking a few of your own photos just as a bit of fun. They may come out better than you think! Good luck!