Mountains. Move them.

You know the saying, attributed to Francis Bacon? “IF THE MOUNTAIN WILL NOT COME TO MOHAMMED, MOHAMMED WILL GO TO THE MOUNTAIN”.

Photographers know this too – but we sometimes forget it. So let me remind you. When you have a background you do not like, or a wall with the wrong colour, or a ceiling that is too high, you can try to deal with it the best way you can.

You know how, right? So you read my blog – you know this. 4 -40- 400!

  • 400 ISO
  • 1/40th sec
  • f/4

And the flash aimed behind you.

Nice, but.. if you have a better background or a better wall, why not use that?

Ask your subjects to move.

And then you get..

So.. please remember that as a photographer, you can shape your environment. Do it, and your pics will be better.

 

 

2 thoughts on “Mountains. Move them.

  1. I have a question about your example.

    In the latter photo example, doesn’t the light fixed behind the targeted couple detract from the shot? While the busier background makes for a more expressive picture, that light behind the lady’s head is driving me nuts, as it’s repeatedly pulling my eye from the people and back to the light.

    Would the same shot, but at a slightly different angle to prevent that make more sense, or is it a non-issue?

    • It is always good to move to get the right composition. As for the lights, that is a matter of taste. While usually distractions should be avoided, colorful lights in a background, especially if blurreed out, can work very well. So it’s a judgement call here: your style may be different from mine.

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