Lesson Info
17. Considering Foreground And Background
Lessons
Class Introduction - Three Steps To Creative Photography
03:48 2Firing The Creative Mind - Part 1: The Camera Points Both Ways
03:10 3Firing The Creative Mind - Part 2: Letting Go Of Judgement
06:53 4Firing The Creative Mind - Part 3: Detaching From Outcomes
04:12 5Practicing Mindfulness In Photography
02:43 6Finding The Visual Narrative
02:39 7Behind-the-scenes: Naples
07:52 8Seeing Beneath The Surface Of Things
02:30Finding Inspiration
03:19 10Slowing Down
03:57 11Three Reasons To Shoot RAW
02:29 12Choosing the Right Frame Format
03:52 13Don’t Be Limited By The Shape Of Your Camera
05:07 14WYSIWYG
04:15 15Choosing Lenses
05:02 16Perspective
02:44 17Considering Foreground And Background
03:10 18Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad But Three Into Two Is Better
03:43 19Separate And Isolate
02:32 20The Art Of Creative Exposure
06:38 21Focus On The Story
04:20 22The Passage Of Time
03:00 23Creating A Visual Sense Of Mood
04:24 24Color vs. Black & White
03:09 25The Decisive Moment
03:00 26Using Color As A Cohesive Tools
01:51 27Photography Is A Two-Part Process
06:55 28Case Study: Recreating The Art of Sumi-e
07:04 29Case Study: Making Something Out of Nothing
04:32 30Case Study: Moody Blues
03:29 31Image Reviews
03:02 32Image Review: The “Thinking Man”
01:55 33Image Review: The Golf Course
02:32 34Image Review: Dreamstate
02:38 35Image Review: Gone Fishing
02:24 36Image Review: Promenade
01:47 37Image Review: Sky and Reflections
01:57 38Image Review: Grass and Field
02:20 39Final Word: Show Me What The World Looks Like To You
04:44Lesson Info
Considering Foreground And Background
In real life, our brain tends to fixate on whatever it is. We're paying attention to ignoring what may or may not be going on in the foreground and background. But as soon as we turn real life action into a still photograph, the whole image becomes our center of attention, and whatever is in the foreground and background gets noticed, so foreground and background are critical elements in composition. Now four grounds play one of two roles in photography. They are either the royal box overlooking the stage on which your visual story is being performed, or they are the staging posts from which the visual journey begins. If the foreground is playing neither of those roles, then it has no purpose being in the picture space at all. So let me get my boots on and show you exactly what I mean. So what's my story here? Well, I want to take you on a visual journey from the foreground here to the farmhouse over there. Now, if I were to make that journey for real, I'd have to climb over this wall ...
because it's in my way. The wall is an obstruction that is stopping me from getting where I want to go, and what happens physically happens visually, too. So if I put the wall in the foreground of my composition, rather than being foreground interest, it becomes a barrier that prevents the visual journey from happening. Notice how foreground and background are disconnected by the presence of the wall. Artistically, we want to connect the elements in the scene, bring them together. So back in the real world, if I wanted to get to the house, I'd look for a gate. And as if by magic, here's a gate. Now look what happens when I bring this gate into play. In the composition, there's an easy flow from foreground to middle ground to background. Now the wall, instead of being a barrier, becomes a visual tool that leads the eye where you want it to go. Now. In this scenario, the foreground is the staging post. The point from where the journey begins. The house is the background is our destination, and that's an important consideration in any visual story. Just like any good story, there needs to be a beginning, a middle and an end. The other role of foreground can play is to be the viewing point, the place from which the viewer observes the action beyond now. Ideally, this young point needs to be a physical object in the composition that draws the viewer in and metaphorically gives them somewhere to stand within. The frame, for example, compared these two images in the first image. The viewer is passive, as if watching the sunset on a television set. In the second image, the viewer is there in the moment, bathed by the sons. Dying, rays disconnected observer versus engaged participant. It's easy, I know when your attention is focused on the main subject and you're thinking about cameras and settings to forget about the peripheral elements in the scene. But the moment you press the shutter and the images captured in that single photograph, every element becomes a significant part in the visual story. So it's vital that before you lock in that shot, think about the beginning and the end foreground and background, because they can break an image or make it
Ratings and Reviews
Gary Hook
Wow, what a wonderful journey. I love the concept of telling a story with one's photos and as I go through past images, I'm seeing them in a much different perspective. That's the good news, The bad? The lost opportunities I never 'saw' before; however that is a good thing. There is so much to internalize with the material so that it can get out of the head and into the 'heart'. I also found the concept really helps me with composition, both in camera and post. Biggest take away, as Chris underscored in his closing, is to slooooow down, take the time and feel it. Don't be so quick to leave one scene as there remain other aspects, yet to be discovered. A great experience that I truly enjoyed Thank you
Glenda
I loved this course - in particular the latter part of it in which he demonstrated how post processing lets you really tell the story of the image. Another fabulous course. Thanks Chris & thanks Creative Live.
Abdullah Alahmari
Thanks a lot to mr. Chris Weston This course is great and It is a 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 course for me. Beside the other course ( mastering photographic composition and visual storytelling) both courses are Complementing to each other and highly recommended.