One thing I’ve learned over the past year or so, is how important backgrounds can be to a photograph. Sometimes the subject is easy, right in front of you, just waiting for the shutter to click but it just isn’t right because of the background. It’s not a complete image if the background doesn’t complement the subject or in some way detracts from it. In going back through some files from the last year or so, I’ve come across some images where this has worked out pretty darn well.
This female cardinal is one of my favorites. The perch is a little big, but hey, that’s where she was sitting. But look at how soft the background is and more importantly how the colors complement the subject. The light dusky brown of what is actually a tree in the background almost matches her coloring. A lot of this accomplished because the long lens used to make the image has such a narrow depth of field, that tree behind her is just sort of turned to mush. Over the next few days, I’ll post some more examples so stay tuned.
Be sure to click on the image to see a larger view