How to Avoid Distracting Backgrounds

Something that can be a struggle, especially for newer photographers, is learning to pay attention to the background of an image. Even I’m guilty of this! You get so focused on your subject and how amazing the photo is going to be, that you just completely forget to look around and check that you don’t have anything distracting in the background. It really only takes 2 things to start to master the art of beautiful backgrounds. And those things are knowledge, and practice. So in this post I am going to give you some tips so that you can go out there and practice paying attention to the backgrounds in your awesome photos! My friend, Ween, was just like most of us. She knew she needed to be paying attention to the background, but she often forgot. But learning more about how to avoid distractions and going and out and practicing really helped. I will include some of Ween’s photos to show her progress.

Horizon Line

In this photo the horizon line is running right through the subject's head.

The horizon line is where the sky meets the earth to form a line. Anytime you are outside taking photos you need to be paying attention to where the horizon is. A poorly “placed” horizon line can be really distracting. Ween didn’t really understand what I meant until I showed her an example picture.

In this photo I adjusted my angle just a little and got rid of the horizon line. It makes the background much less distracting and you only have the subject to focus on.

When I was starting out (and even now sometimes) I took many photographs where the horizon was running straight through the head of the subject. This is distracting to someone looking at the image because our eyes naturally follow lines, and that particular line disrupts the flow of the image. Depending on your subject and the background you are shooting against, you can either move the horizon line above your subject’s head or a little below. Generally portraits choose the later option or else change the orientation and angle of the photo in order to eliminate the horizon line from the portrait altogether. When you pay attention to your horizon line you can make more powerful images.

Distracting Background Elements

This was Ween's first photo. There are lots of distracting background elements taking away from the subject. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

After Ween understood about horizon lines we moved onto other things that can cause distractions. A big one is things like trees or poles that we don’t notice that seemingly sprout from the heads of our subject. We need to make sure that we are aware of the whole frame of our photograph and all the elements involved.

After pointing out some of the distractions in the photo, this was Ween's next attempt. It got better! But the hand and ground are still a little distracting. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

Another thing that can be really hard is people. We can’t really control where the random people in the background are standing, so we need to be aware of them so that we can move ourselves and/or our subject to avoid having that weird person bending down to pick up a penny. You also want to be careful to keep trash cans, license plates, crazy signs that you aren’t wanting there on purpose, bright spots in the background, and really anything else that could distract the viewer from your subject.

Ween's 3rd attempt was even better! But after looking at the photo she realized that the bit of dirt and sticks you can see in the background is kind of distracting. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

Really, unless you have mad Photoshop skills, the only way to avoid these things is to pay attention and be willing to move and re-compose your photo. If there is a person that you can see right over the left shoulder of your subject, just shift over a little so that you can’t see them anymore. But make sure that you are paying attention and adapting as necessary.

This was Ween's final image. And there is nothing in the background to distract you from this perfect pine cone that she found. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

Ween did a pretty good job at trying to move to avoid anything distracting in the background of the photos she was taking. But it’s hard! And it takes a lot of practice. It’s something that I’m still working on remembering each time I pick up my camera.

3 Tips on Backgrounds

While there are a lot of things to look out for to ensure you don’t have a distracting background, here are some tips that can help make it a little easier for you! 1. Shallow Depth of Field

A shallow depth of field makes the background blurry which can help with anything distracting.

This looks especially good in nature photos, but also works if you just have a pretty distracting background. If you shoot with a wide aperture (usually like f/4 or lower) and make sure there is distance between the subject and background you will get a really beautiful bokeh. Bokeh is when the background is really blurry and your subject stands out a lot. 2. Simple Backgrounds

This was Ween's attempt at a simple background. Using a simple background isn't always practical, but sometimes it can really help avoid distracting backgrounds. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

While it isn’t always true, sometimes less really is more. When you are trying to convey a lot of emotion or create a really powerful image, having a simple image can really help you with that. Basically getting rid of all background elements leaves your viewers with only one option: really look at the subject. Ween tried this one out, and found that it can be difficult to find simple backgrounds! 3. Fill the Frame

In order to avoid the distractions around this plant, Ween chose to get really close and fill the frame with this photo. Photo by: Nguyen Pham

This is another technique that works well with nature, but can make for some very interesting and unique images. Filling the frame is just what it sounds like. Take a flower for example. If you are taking a photo of a flower but you can’t seem to get rid of all the distracting background elements, try getting really close to the flower and filling your whole frame with the flower. This creates a really beautiful and dynamic image that leaves the viewer wondering how they never thought to get so close to a flower before.

It can be hard to remember to pay attention to the background in your photographs. But with practice it will become second nature! After only a little practice Ween was way better at it!

Have you ever had a photograph that was kind of ruined because of something in the background?