Photography Tips - Avoiding Bad Foregrounds

Cluttered backgrounds are a huge problem for photographers but foregrounds can be a worse problem. While backgrounds distract from the subject in front of it, foregrounds can hide the subject itself.

Just like backgrounds, depth of field and angle are your two best options for combating a bad foreground. When using depth of field to combat a bad foreground photographers are limited by two things: how close the camera is to the offending object and the size of the object.

Depth of Field
When the problem foreground object is something like a wire fence, it is often possible to get the camera close enough that the wire can be thrown so far out of focus it becomes invisible. However, when the problem foreground object is further away from the photographer and closer to the subject (like the example image), it is likely to remain a distracting blur no matter how small the depth of field becomes. Also, the larger the object is, the more difficult it is to visually remove that object using depth of field.

Angle
The second main option for dealing with bad foregrounds is angle. If there is an object you can not safely move or use depth of field to control then the photographer must move. By changing the shooting angle, offending objects can often be placed outside the intended frame. Remember that changing angle means more than just moving left or right. You can also raise the shooting angle by standing on a stable object or lower the angle by crouching down.

Rule of Thirds
Another consideration when working with problem foregrounds is the rule of thirds. When using the rule of thirds, any object in the foreground that is placed on a line of emphasis will try to take visual dominance over other items in the composition. Therefore, it is important to avoid strong foreground objects placed at those points unless the photographer wants them to be a main focal point of the image.