Importance of Foreground and Background
Lesson 5 from: Portrait Photography FundamentalsScott Robert Lim
Importance of Foreground and Background
Lesson 5 from: Portrait Photography FundamentalsScott Robert Lim
Lesson Info
5. Importance of Foreground and Background
Lessons
Class Introduction
04:10 25 Shots That WOW
14:08 3Four Fundamentals of Photography
08:05 4Create a Visual Impact with Composition
07:04 5Importance of Foreground and Background
08:30 6Create Depth in Landscape Images
18:09 7Photos Don't Always Follow the Rules
02:11 8Composition Practice Exercise
10:41Composition Critique of Student Images
05:28 10Keys to Posing
05:37 11Shoot: Classic Elegance Female Pose
14:46 12Shoot: Modern Female Pose
09:04 13Shoot: Rollover Female Pose
08:10 14Female Hands & Arms Poses Overview
19:52 15Shoot: Hands and Arms Poses for Female
08:58 16Seven Posing Guidelines
04:18 17Headshots Poses with Male Model
14:59 18Shoot: Headshot for Male Model
06:45 19Shoot: Sitting Poses for Male Model
10:03 20Shoot: Leaning Poses for Male Model
06:43 21Shoot: Standing Poses for Male Model
03:32 22Keys to Couples Posing
10:31 23Shoot: Couples Posing
06:17 24Couples Transitional Posing Overview
14:28 25Shoot: Transitional Posing
15:25 26Keys to Group Posing
07:12 27Accordion Technique with Groups
07:46 28Shoot: Accordion Technique
04:11 29Shoot: Best Buds Pose
04:54 30Shoot: Talk with Your Hands Pose
02:33 31Shoot: Lock Arms and Hold Hands Pose
04:34 32Run at the Camera and Dance in Your Seat Poses
04:13 33Shoot: Pod Method Pose
17:58 34Posing Critique of Student Images
09:32 35Introduction to Lighting
05:38 36Soft vs Hard Light
17:10 37Difficult Lighting Situations
05:52 38Bright Light Techniques
18:16 39Overcast Light Techniques
10:34 40Low Light Techniques
10:27 41Lighting Techniques Q&A
14:58 42Drama Queen Lighting
06:26 43Laundry Basket Lighting
09:44 44Make it Rain Lighting
03:48 45Smart Phone Painting with Light
07:53 46Mini LED Bokeh Lighting
08:22 47Choose the Right Lighting System
13:30 48Hybrid Flash System
06:42 49Innovative Accessories
05:35 50Gear Overview
06:19 51Theatrical Post-Processing
06:07 52Ten Keys to Post-Processing
08:37 53Essential Skills to Post-Processing
08:25 54Headshot Post-Processing
24:53 55Bright Light Post-Processing
09:45 56Flat Light Post-Processing
14:46 57Low Light Post-Processing
08:24 58Introduction to Fine Art Post-Processing
09:06 59Light & Airy Fine Art Post-Processing
27:34 60Dark & Moody Fine Art Post-Processing
13:36 61Post-Processing Critique of Student Images
36:56Lesson Info
Importance of Foreground and Background
Foreground/background. So part of composition is, you want to put something in the foreground that's of significance. And you can see how I put them right below that shape. You see the ocean. There's no line going across their heads. They're clean, bam, right there. And then in the background, I have something of significance too. Anybody been to Hawaii? Right, that's Diamond Head. That's the iconic image of Hawaii. And so now I have something that's both significant in the foreground and in the background, making the photo even stronger and it makes you look at the entire photo. That's a great photograph. A great photograph is when it's composed in a way where the viewer is forced to look at the entire photo. And if there's spots in that photo where your eye just doesn't go to, then you either need to crop that out or you need to change your perspective so you don't have those dead spots in your shots. And that's all in the way you compose, foreground/background. Alright, so enough of...
my family photography, which I know you want to look at, but let's get into the real world, when I shoot for real. Well, not to say, shooting for my family is not real, but when I'm on the job, which is hot chicks in exotic locations. (laughs) Now, do you see the shapes here and how I composed it? There's one shape on the right and there's another shape, which I do as I find a backdrop. I find a backdrop, this is the easiest way to do it. Find a backdrop in your environment, and put the subject right there. And another key thing, what I like to do is I like to find that backdrop but, oops sorry- but I like to show depth in the photo too. Cause if I just took a, you know, my beautiful friend just within that backdrop that would be fine but that's just like shooting here, right? That doesn't say you're like in South Beach, Miami. So if you're a location photographer, you want to take a great shot but you want to show where you are and often it's that depth behind the backdrop that I use, 2 in 1. So I find the backdrop and wear some depth where I can show you where this person is at. And this is a simple technique that I use all the time. Now it gets a little bit more complicated. I'm taking this shot and I'm trying to see these shapes in my head. So I take- now let's analyze. Well, there's this shape over there to the left in the red, right? But if I put her against that wall, that's actually the smallest shape. Even though it will work, it's not the most obvious shape. I go, "Well, that could work" but the most obvious shape is this one and so if I take a little bit of a lower angle then I could raise her head higher in the middle of that shape and it all makes sense. Let's get to the next picture. Let's analyze the shapes here. Well, there's some shapes in the ocean but do we want to get in the water all the time? (laughs) I guess sometimes it's cool but that's very inconvenient there so ixnay on that. Also, I have this pier with some beautiful leading lines. I want to use those leading lines into my subject so I probably don't want to do it in the water. I could put them in this area here, but then I have to contend with those tiki lights and I don't know if I want to go into Photoshop and remove everyone and that's too much hassle. Let's try to find a next best shape, which was right over here in this location there. And I placed my subject there. Also because it's out and close to the end of the frame I could get my lighting just outside the frame too and so I can light my subject there. Alright, let's get to the next photo here. See how I took the lower angle, which accentuates her legs, gives her some length, and then, bam! I've got her right in the middle of the largest shape. I could put her down on the ground and that would be a nice shape for me but it's not the most obvious shape, which is right above there, dead center. Okay, let's go to the Great Wall of China. Do you see the shapes? Do you see the leading line, leading her right into that shape right there? So what I did was I put her head right in the middle of that. I had her raise the umbrella so the subject's eye will go through the entire frame. So I'm using those elements to allow the viewer to- it gives you a reason to look at every single pixel of your picture. Let's go to Italy now. And here I'm shooting on the Amalfi Coast and you could see some different shapes here. I have this one shape over here but it's in the shade and they're like 40 feet up. How am I going to get the lighting over there? That's not going to work. And so that's kind of obvious there, but I can't get to it. So here is another shape. I originally had them in the middle where that archway was but there was just some distracting elements coming above their head so I had to move them way to the corner of that balcony there where I could put them right in that small shape right there. And that was really the only location that I had, that I could put them in. Right there, to have a clean shape. So a lot of times as you're analyzing things what helps you is, you're looking at a situation. You're going, "You know what? There's really only one place that I can go and it's right there." Which speeds up the process. And now, once you know that, you can move onto other things and concentrate on the posing and the lighting, whatever, that's already solved. Alright, so let's go to Paris now. And so here I am. Here's a tip when you shoot in Paris, when you're going to go to the Louvre. Go on a Tuesday. Why? They're closed that day, and so when you go when they're closed there's a lot less people cause there's usually hundreds and thousands of people. Even there's hundreds of people at this time but I caught this moment where there's nobody. And a lot of times that's going to happen. You're going to see all these people here and go, "How can I ever get a shot off here?" But if you envision it, a lot of times the universe will open up for you and give you, like, a second to take a shot and that's literally what I had here. Just a few seconds because immediately after this shot people were walking by left and right. So, do you see the shapes? Well, there's some shapes, there's the sky. I could have put her head in the middle of that sky but I would have to bring her a lot closer to me and she would cover up those iconic images of the Pyramids so that's not gonna work, right? Then, there's a shape down there which is really cool but by the time she walks all the way down there and around the corner, and it's going to take her like three, four minutes to just get to that spot, there's going to be probably hundreds of people there. I don't have time for that and I can't guarantee that's going to be open so here was my best selection, right there. What did I do? I found a backdrop and then I had some depth to show where she is. Do you see the depth on the left of her? And so I want- that was purposefully put there so I could show you how long and kind of majestic this building is and so how far down the hallway you can view into infinity and then on the right I have the beautiful iconic Pyramids. So both of them give a beautiful setting of where she is.
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Ratings and Reviews
Vitor Rademaker
This course is amazing! Scott is extremely straightforward. He goes directly to practical problems, tips and etc. He explains every thing very clearly, and he is also very funny and charismatic, making you laugh as you learn. He shows that you don't need a lot of expensive gear to make very nice pictures. So I have saved some money as well, cause I was about to buy some gear that I wouldn't need right now. It is for sure one of the best photography courses I have ever attended to! I highly recommend! Thanks a lot Scott! You are the best!
user-b48fe5
Another fantastic class with Scott Robert Lim! The combination of his knowledge, willingness to share, passion & entertaining personality makes him a top choice for photography education. Learning not only the "what", but the "why" & "how" can transform one's entire approach towards MAKING pictures. A constant inspiration to get better & better through practice.
user-9994d2
I have purchased a number of classes, this being one of them. The quality of the information was good and the level at which Scott spoke was appropriate for me. Having a course sylibus would add greatly to the value, which usually is not part of the programs I've purchased including this one, unless I've missed it. I believe the speaker should be required to provide one. After watching the videos, much of material can be recaptured by seeing it in writing. I would like to hear back from Creativelive their thoughts. In sum, good topic, good speaker, good technical audio and video quality by Creativelive
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