From the course: The Elements of Effective Photographs

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Foreground, background, and in between

Foreground, background, and in between

From the course: The Elements of Effective Photographs

Foreground, background, and in between

- A common mistake photographers make is creating a flat photo. And what I mean by this is that the image doesn't explore the relationship between the foreground and the background. It doesn't have the depth. So let's analyze this photograph of a kayaker that I did in Alaska. The kayak is on a diagonal. Remember diagonals are our friends, and there are repetitive shapes in the mountains and there's mirroring of the sky and the mountains in the water. So a lot of compositional elements are already in play here. Now the foreground subject feels really close to the camera. When looking at the kayak, you can almost have a feeling that you can reach out and touch it. This perspective is created by using a 20 millimeter lens. Wide angles often make you feel like you're part of the scene. This feeling is really enhanced if you are able to use a great depth of field to make everything in focus from the foreground to the horizon.…

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