*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com
This quick lesson is dedicated to improving the composition of the shot and learning how to position the subject of the photo in the frame. Following our favorite AdoramaTV show with David Bergman let’s find out the best tricks from the photographer.
David Bergman takes us to his outdoor photoshoot in New York: “I love to photograph people in the real world. I’ve got Maria out here in New York City and want to shoot her in this environment.”
“But while the background adds a lot to the images it can also take away some of the focus off her. If I don’t watch very carefully, the biggest mistake beginning photographers make is not looking at the background before pressing the shutter button. There are a lot of other things to worry about including exposure, focus, and facial expression. But if there’s something distracting back there then all that work might be for nothing. The most common distraction is having a tree or pole coming out of your subjects head!”
“If we’re in the park – there are trees everywhere, if we’re out on the street – there are light poles or telephone poles to deal with! So now that we see them how do we fix it? The simplest thing is to either move your subject or move yourself. Sometimes just a step to the left or right will help that background element to frame your subject instead of slicing right through them.”
“If moving left or right doesn’t work, you can also try to move yourself up or down the sky or the ground.”
“Another technique is to use a fast lens with a large aperture and blur your background to the point where you can’t see much detail. And if none of those options work, then just get in as tight as you can and get rid of the background completely. You’ll lose the feel of the environment but it’ll be pretty obvious what you want to be seen in your pictures”
“At the end of the day, the key is to slow down and pay attention to every element in your images. Keep your backgrounds from getting distracting, and the focus will be clearly on your subject.”
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Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: