Have you ever been to a breathtaking location, like a mountain peak or a serene beach, only to find that your photo doesn’t do it justice? The image lacks the grandeur and life you experienced, appearing flat and uninspiring. This is a common issue when capturing scenes in photography.
It is essential to realize that the camera can not record a scene in the same way as your eyes. A photo is two-dimensional, meaning it is flat. The human eye can take in the foreground and background with great detail and process how each piece of the scene relates to the other.
It is important to look at a scene and “see” the foreground, the background, and everything in between. Consider how an item in the foreground can be interesting and allow the camera to better see the grandeur of the background.
When you look at a photograph, your eye wants to be directed. It wants a point on which to focus, allowing your brain to process the entire scene in detail. Start at the front and work your way to the background.
The subject of the photograph does not need to completely dominate. It can be an attractive flower or, as best fits this blog, a vehicle. The foreground subject can fill a large portion of the frame or be tucked away in a corner. In a later post, we will examine the rules of composition and some techniques that can help you better integrate the subject into the overall scene. This subject draws the eye in and gives the background scale. By starting with the foreground subject, the human eye and brain work together to process the entire scene.
