Foreground, Background, Melody, Rhythm
Baroque Figures, Study No. 5
When you listen to a song, what catches your ear? Maybe the singer? Maybe the lead guitar? They are important to carry the tune of the song, for sure. But chances are good that maybe it’s the bass and drums that are catching your ear. They’re the rhythm section, and they provide the structure and foundation that lets the tune soar.
It’s a little like that with photographs too, I think. The subject of the photograph is like the singer or the guitar, catching your eye and carrying the message of the image. But the background provides the structure and foundation that lets the subject of the image, again, soar.
In this arrangement, the background of the image naturally plays a supporting role. But supporting does not mean unimportant, and does not even necessarily mean secondary. In the same way that a strong rhythm section can define a song, a strong background can make or break an image. So it’s critical, in my opinion, to invest as much effort in composing the background of an image as is invested in composing the foreground.
I think when beginners learn photography, they learn the basic principle of checking the background to make sure there is nothing in it that distracts from the subject. For example, it’s often considered a distraction when an object pokes in from the edge of the frame, when objects or things in the background draw the eye more strongly than the subject, or when the subject overlaps something in the background creating a combined shape or form. It’s mostly good practice to eliminate these distractions, and it’s a valuable lesson to learn.
But the value of the background is so much more important than simply being something to eliminate distractions from. Ideally, every element of the background should be an affirmative, intentional compositional element that exists in relation to and in support of the subject. The background should exist in lockstep relation with the subject, so that the two are inseparable in conveying the message and impact of the image.
It’s not an easy thing to do. With the exception of studio work, a photographer rarely has the ability to control what’s going on in the background of an image. I myself have passed on photographing many, many potentially compelling subjects precisely because the background was unappealing in a way that I could not correct for in the field. Usually, working with the background is making the best of what you’re given in the field, and the only tools you have are things like camera placement, lens choice, framing, and the like.
But sometimes you come across backgrounds that are tailor made for their subjects. In the case of the image in this post, quite literally. The artisans that created the sculptural forms in this image also created the sculptural backgrounds in which the forms are placed. They are spectacular as seen in real life, and they make for spectacular photographs as well that also happen to consummately illustrate the powerful effect a strong background existing in harmonious relationship with the subject has in conveying the impact of an image.