Backgrounds for Portraiture

"The first and most obvious thing to do is to ooze awareness - and really look and act as if you know what you are doing. That means knowing your camera backwards: never fiddle with it during a shooting session - load it, focus it, fire it, but never fiddle. And get your background sorted out well before its time to press the shutter. Choose where you're going to do your portrait shooting, and place your subject there without dithering." David Bailey, English Portrait and Fashion Photographer.

How many times have you seen an otherwise beautiful portrait spoiled because of a distracting background - a lamppost growing out of a head, a strongly patterned wall or bright, distracting colours?

In formal portraits in particular the photographer needs to choose the background during the planning stage before the shoot itself. Avoid searching for a background when your subject is present. Be well prepared - know where to go and when to go there.

Get into the habit of looking for appropriate backgrounds when                  

walking, cycling and driving (just don't drive into one and become part of the background!). Generally, a neutral, evenly lit, darkish background is ideal eg an ivy-covered wall. In portraits, the photographer wants the face and the hands to be the two main areas of interest. The faces and hands should shine and stand out. Anything that distracts from those two areas needs to be eliminated or reduced.

In candid portraits, a good photographer will always look beyond the main subject to the background. You can sometimes alter the background by moving a few steps to the left or right. Another technique is altering your viewing angle and let the sky or the ground form your background. Or if the subject is moving, select your background, and wait for the subject to pass in front of the background.

In most portraits the background is thrown out of focus to concentrate attention on the subject. The exception is a situational portrait where the background is part of the photograph.

Here are a few tips for suitable backgrounds:

  Green foliage on trees, vines etc

  Sky or ocean (an orange filter with B & W film will

    darken the sky!)

  Open doorways with dark recesses

  Interesting doors

  Green grass

  A neutral wall without strong lines or patterns

  Most woodwork especially old jarrah

  Hoarding or advertising

  Vehicles (avoid merger of vehicle lines and sky)

  Limestone