Years ago I had a discussion about photography with the photo editor for the sports section of a large, national US newspaper. During our conversation, she mentioned how much importance she gave to the background in a photograph. As she put it: “Always watch your backgrounds.”

During the Winter Olympics last month, our TV coverage included an interview with a prominent sports photographer.  He was asked if he had any tips for amateur photographers.  He had an immediate response: “Watch your backgrounds.”  He talked about anticipating, being in position to get a photo, and adjusting your position to get a good background.

The “background” of a photograph is the part behind, or surrounding, the subject.  Most photos, not just sports photos, have a background.  When taking a picture, paying attention to the background can improve most anyone’s photos.

In general terms, simple backgrounds have few distractions and focus attention on the subject.  Interesting or unusual backgrounds can spice up a photo.  Backgrounds can be spacious and add depth to a photo.  They can add color or interest.  They can remove focus on the subject, if that’s what you want.

In erotic photography, the background can be considered the setting, either outdoors, indoors or studio, and how the model is placed in that setting.  Nature as a background has an appeal to many viewers.  However, natural backgrounds tend to be very busy and distracting, and the emotion is more suited to fine-art nudes and simple nudes rather than erotic photography.

Studio backdrops are usually very simple, with solid colors or a light texture or pattern. When they are used behind a model, there are virtually no distractions to take the viewer’s attention away from the subject.  Again, I find studio backdrops more suited to fine-art nudes and simple nudes.

For erotic photography, I find indoor settings much more erotic than outdoor or studio.   Indoor backgrounds add to the eroticism by making a stronger connection to reality and our life experiences.

For my work for Torrid Art, I tend to use affluent-looking settings.  This choice is not made entirely for erotic reasons.  It is mostly a practical decision.  Large houses have more variety, and are more likely to have a location with a spacious background.  Shooting galleries in small houses and apartments usually means the model is surrounded by nearby white walls.

Backgrounds to indoor settings must have enough light to look normal.  In other words, if I am illuminating the model with flash, I must add some light to the background or it will look dark and creepy.  The area next to the model will look fine, but the background will get darker farther away from the model.  Creepy.

Additionally, if there is a doorway in the background leading to another room, that room must have a light in it, or it will appear very dark in the photo.  Again, that is creepy.

Though I prefer indoor settings, they can be the most expensive to produce, as locations may have to be rented.  Natural settings, on the other hand, are usually free.  Natural, outdoor settings can also make for a quick gallery session as there are no lights to set up.  That is why you see so many nature settings on some nude sites.

You can “watch your backgrounds” whenever you take a picture, even a vacation snapshot.  You can’t always move the subject in front of a nice background, but you can do one simple thing to improve your photos.

As you take a picture, look at your subject, especially if it’s a person, and then just look at the background.  Try to avoid strong, small graphical elements behind your subject’s head, like a tree or a pole.  Remember, your photo is two dimensional, and a tree, though very far away, may appear to be “growing” out of you subject’s head.  That can be very distracting, and funny!

Backgrounds are an important part of any photo. By paying attention to them, you can improve your photos by focusing attention on the subject, adding color, interest or depth, or avoiding humorous mistakes

- RAP

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 2:02 pm and is filed under General Photography, Erotic Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.