6 Tips For Making The Subject Of Your Photograph Pop!
When we look at an image, our eye is naturally drawn to the strongest part of the picture. When you manipulate the placement of your subject in the picture, and leverage your use of light, color, and contrast you will direct your viewer’s attention to the main part of your image.
Next time you pick up your camera to take a picture, try these quick photography tips to really make the subject of your image pop and stand out.
1. Fill the frame with their face/body - When there is nothing else in the image, it is hard to be distracted by other elements and details
2. Use a shallow depth of field. By creating a shallow depth of field in your image, details in the foreground and background will fall out of focus and become a blur. This will reduce the distraction of the other parts of the image and allow the subject to be the main focus. Our eye will be drawn to the sharp in focus subject.
Shallow Depth Of Field: f/2.0
Deep Depth Of Field: f/13
3. When we first look at a picture our eye naturally will go the brightest part of the image. If you can place your subject in and around the brighter lighting condition, that will help make them the star.
4. High contrast subjects will also grab the attention of the viewer. If your subject is dressed in colors that are in contrast to their surrounding, they will stand out. For example, your child wearing a pink snow suit playing in the snow will pop in the frame. If you are photographing a plate of food, perhaps use a plain white dish so a bright design does not compete with the food.
The color of my daughter’s jacket really brings attention to her in this image.
My daughters dark coat, pink pants and bright back-pack are a strong contrast to the snow white environment.
5. How quickly the viewer's eye is drawn to the main subject can be heavily influenced by where your subject is placed in the frame. We already spoke of filling the frame, but putting your main subject in the center carries a lot of weight. Also, consider the rule of thirds and place your subject on one of the intersecting points to quickly draw attention to your subject.
filling the frame
placing subject in the center of the frame
This is an example of the Rule Of Thirds overlay grid. As you can see, the women in the photo is placed on the left vertical line. This placement gives balance and strength to the image.
6. Try to find something in your environment that you can use to frame your subject. It could be a window, trees, archways, park equipment. Be creative with how your create your framing.
