Fill the Frame

Have you ever handed your camera over to someone else and asked them to take a picture for you?  Are you usually satisfied with what you got when you take a look at the picture later?  Most of the time, I bet your not.  Here is why.  Most people typically include too much background in the picture.  Background is great if the setting is important in why the photograph is being taken.  For example, if you are visiting Biltmore House in Ashville, North Carolina and you are standing on the front lawn and ask someone to take your picture, chances are you want them to include the 100+ year old castle in the background.  If you are somewhere that the background gives the viewer no further information, chances are you want the frame to be filled with you or your family.  Here is an example from my life.  Bless this sweet lady for taking the time away from her own family to snap a picture for mine but this is the picture she took of us.

Do you have any idea where we are?  Can you really even see much of us in the picture?  About two-thirds of this photograph can be eliminated.  Here it is after being cropped.

Now the focus is on the family.  Fortunately, my camera is a high enough resolution that I can crop out that much of the photograph and still have a good quality print.  Not all cameras are like that.  Also, by cropping it, I eliminated most of the trash can behind my son and myself.  The photographer could have also done that by merely taking about three steps to her left before pressing the shutter. 

This post is not meant to criticize the generous person who snapped this photo for us.  I’m happy to have a picture that includes all five of us – particularly me since I’m usually holding the camera.  It’s only meant as an example of the difference between filling the frame versus too much background.  When you are snapping a photograph for yourself or someone else, consider what is behind the subject.  Is it important in telling the story?  If not, fill the frame with the subject.