Is The background a distraction to you?


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charmingorion

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Dec 22, 2007
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Hi all,
I have been told that the background of this pic (the building) is a distraction in this pic, Red Bud.

I am rather confused still why would it be considered a distraction even though it is blurred. The red bud is sharp in focus and nicely litted. :dunno:

Taken at F2.8 and ISO 800.

Could you kindly enlighten me if u do consider the background as a distraction to the red bud pls? :sweatsm:

I do wish to understand distractions in my composition.

Thanks. :):)

Red_Bud.jpg
 

it's a distraction... Best to zoom out to 200mm for the extra bokeh.
 

it's a distraction... Best to zoom out to 200mm for the extra bokeh.

Hi Rashkae,
Thanks for your comments. What do u mean by zoom out to 200mm??
 

that depends if the story you are telling, the building is significant or not.

what i would suggest is you could just blur it abit more, and add some soft light on the foreground to make it stand out in contrast.
 

Human eyes is naturally drawn to small bright areas when the rest of the area is dark. In your case, the lights behind attracts my attention more than the darker flowers in the foreground.

If you are using zoom lens, zoom to the max length to get the maximum bokeh. If not, can PP more blur onto the background. Or do selective coloring to isolate the red color. Or change angle so that the building is hidden. Hope I make sense.
 

that depends if the story you are telling, the building is significant or not.

what i would suggest is you could just blur it abit more, and add some soft light on the foreground to make it stand out in contrast.

yeah, it depends on the story you're telling. another way you can try is also desaturating the background.
 

Hi Rashkae,
Thanks for your comments. What do u mean by zoom out to 200mm??

I think he's assuming you used your 70-200mm lens, zooming to the 200mm lens would give you more bokeh. But I'm assuming you were using the 17-50mm instead? :think:
 

Hi,

If I am trying to show the Resort/Hotel I stay during my holiday, this pic is ok, the bokeh of the building is good. But I would go lower, so that I will not see the messy lights on the 1st floor of the building.

If you are trying to show the flower, than the background is a big distraction...and the composition is not suitable too.


Hope my personal view can help you find the answer you want.
 

Hi,

If I am trying to show the Resort/Hotel I stay during my holiday, this pic is ok, the bokeh of the building is good. But I would go lower, so that I will not see the messy lights on the 1st floor of the building.

If you are trying to show the flower, than the background is a big distraction...and the composition is not suitable too.


Hope my personal view can help you find the answer you want.

Hi to lastboltnut, thengz, HTCahHTC, m3lv1nh0 and Del_CtrlnoAlt,
Thank you all so much for your comments and inputs. I greatly appreciate it!

Hmm...One question...if i was to use the 70-200mm lens...then i'll be standing very very far away if i shot it at 200mm. Err...maybe u can enlighten me how u can take it with 200mm?

well, as i can't go back to take the photo, i will try to make further amendments to the photo to see if i can pass the test. :bsmilie:
 

1) it looks unexposed.

2) the ginger flower (iirc) has the similar color tone as the ground floor lighting, the curtain and sky. so flowers lost into the background.

3) my attention is quickly drawn to the lone lamp at the top left.

4) 4 flowers, dont know which one to look at, dof needs to be shallower, can try go nearer and use bigger aperture with wider angle lens.
 

Hi all,
I've made some further editting of my pic. Though i can't get it to a lower angle...but i have darken the background and blurred it further.

Is this better? or have i made it looked more artificial and not so natural anymore?:what:

Red_Bud1.jpg
 

its still blending, just 1/3 stop more light on the subject would be better... can try to lasso or dodge it.

Hi!
Thank you for the quick response!;p
Ok, i shall increase the exposure by 1/3 stop.
Btw, just curious, having a majority of the pic in blur and darkened, does it matter when the background is underexposed in this manner, which made the entire pic looked underexposed?
 

hi, ok, this is the one with the exposure increased...

Red_Bud2.jpg


I think this one looks much better now....Thank you all for your guidance and assistance. I've learnt a lot from you people.

Thank you very much!!;):bsmilie:
 

Hi!
Thank you for the quick response!;p
Ok, i shall increase the exposure by 1/3 stop.
Btw, just curious, having a majority of the pic in blur and darkened, does it matter when the background is underexposed in this manner, which made the entire pic looked underexposed?

actually its about contrast.

we will tend to look at brighter things before the darker things unless the entire pic is bright with a dark spot then we notice the contrasting sector.

so in a way, if your subject like this flower here is more striking than the background, it will definitely stand out.

for eg, you can actually use a ND grad or using PS to darken the background, and apply flash or increase the brightness of the foreground. it will create a contrast of background and foreground.

furthermore, if a light is cast correctly, there will be some edge contrast of the subject and its background, further contrasting from the background.

in a story setting, thou the subject is the main focus, the background serves as a landmark of the story plot. if you take it with an empty background, u are just like shooting it in your studio or just anywhere. the location is just redundant.
 

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