Mistakes Photographers Make—Example IX

LeHardy Rapids, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park with no real foreground (click to enlarge)
A nice image in and of itself, but it could be better.  How?  Better foreground

In my ongoing series of common mistakes photographers make is that many inexperienced  photographers don't use a good foreground to draw your eye into the image to improve your images.  Many photographers see something visually interesting, compose, then press the shutter without really fully examining the viewfinder and really "seeing" what is contained therein.  The foreground doesn't have to be something major, but something that draws and keeps your eye in the image makes for a better image.

For photographs to be as interesting as possible and capture the viewers attention, they should have dimension and depth so to speak.  Since we are restricted to just two dimensions with our images, width and height, either on the screen or in a print, we need to find a way to create the illusion of the third dimension of depth.  One way to do that is to have a strong foreground to lead the viewer's eye into the image and keep it there.

Same image as above but showing color to grab your eye and rocks to anchor the bottom of the image
(click to enlarge)

An illustration of two very similar images is above.  The top one, in and of itself, is a very nice image.  But it could be better if it were more three dimensional.  The bottom version, has two large rocks and a reflection of the orange leaves in the foreground, which to me, make is more interesting as well as creating the illusion of depth.

Your eye will naturally go to the brightest part of an image.  In this case the bright orange trees.  Then your eye will work down to the rapids, then down to the front.  In the top image, there is nothing to stop your eye from leaving the image.  In the bottom image, the rocks and reflection act as a 'bump stop' to bounce your eye back up into the main body of the image.  Subtle, but effective, in my view.

Cape Charles Beach, Virginia's Eastern Shore (click to enlarge)

Strong foregrounds are especially used on very wide angle images to draw in one's eye.  In the third image, I purposely used the fallen fence as a tool to draw the viewer's eye into the image.  Your eye tends to first see the strong graphical components of the fence, then follow it into the image.  Your eye then scans the background and all around.  When your eye gets back toward the front, the dominating character of the fence keeps is from leaving the image.

If you want to create stronger images, try positioning yourself and using a lens that will allow you to have a foreground to the right or left in your image.  One way to do that is to use a wide angle lens and get down low when you compose. Also, think of the traditional rule of thirds (but following it is not necessary all the time) and place a foreground object in that lower left or right position or maybe even closer to the bottom. Try making an image with and without a strong foreground element, then when back home, compare the two side-by-side and see which one you like better.

Thanks for looking.

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


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