The Importance Of Your Subject's Background In Nature And Wildlife Photography

In many forms of photography the background, or area behind your main subject, is an important consideration when composing the shot. But in nature photography, it is not only important, it is crucial that you select the best background possible.

In many cases, the best background for your wildlife subject is simple, out of focus, and not distracting from the main subject. But sometimes, the background can also enhance the main subject. You just have to make sure that it is not competing with the main subject, or the image will be confusing and too busy to be pleasing to the eye.

So how do you know when the image background is good while looking through the camera viewfinder or at the LCD screen? Honestly, this is a skill that can be learned by taking lots of photos and examining them in post-processing to find your winners. Some people also seem to have a better eye for identifying good backgrounds than others, but everyone can learn and master the skill if they just keep working at it.

When working with wildlife, getting as close as they will allow you will often produce a nice clear shot of the subject while making everything in the background go soft and pleasingly out of focus, especially if you are working with a long telephoto lens. But try to move around if possible and find the angle that gives the most pleasing background.

Sometimes the background will change if you are patient and take several shots over a period of time. As an example, here are two shots I took of a blue heron with a koi pond in the background. In one shot, the koi pond was in shadow and made a nice plain background that draws attention the bird in the frame. But in the other, the sun broke through for a moment and lit up some of the koi in the pond. In my opinion, this shot is the one I favor because it created more drama and interest in the composition, although if much more color was present it could have easily overpowered the heron.

The heron itself is almost identical in both shots, but what a difference in mood the background made from one shot to the next. This was possible only because I stayed for a while and took several shots as conditions and lighting behind the bird changed.

So if you want great nature and wildlife photos, don't just focus on the subject alone. Make sure that you also pay close attention to the background as well!

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See my latest nature and wildlife images at:
www.duanelipham.com
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