This is one thing that separates great photographers from bad photographers. Backgrounds. Nothing can ruin a good photograph like a bad background. To become a great photographer you need to bring your backgrounds under control.

Why it Matters

The background is an important part of your image. It's often the backdrop that you put your subject in front of. As such it is in direct competition with your subject. If the background of your photo is distracting or full of visual noise, it will pull the viewer's eyes away from your subject. If you compose your photographs with some thought, you can control the path the viewer's eyes will take through your image. Making sure your background is helping, rather than hurting, is essential.

Clean Backgrounds

A clean background is one with very little detail. If you want your photograph to be all about your subject, you'll want a clean background. Think of a white wall. There's no visual detail on a white wall, so your viewers will stay focused on your subject. But white walls can also be a little like vanilla ice cream— a little plain. You don't need to stick with plain white. Any background that consists of a single tone or color will have the same effect. So color or tone is often irrelevant. You just want to eliminate distractions. Look for backgrounds that work in harmony with your subject matter.

Cluttered Backgrounds

If you're in an environment without walls, look for any space that is clean. If you're outside, lowering your angle (by sitting or crouching) will put the horizon or the sky in your background, while lowering distracting elements like power lines, billboards, etc. A blue sky makes the ultimate clean background. A cloudy blue sky? Sometimes that's even better.

Another way to eliminate distracting backgrounds is to use shallow depth of field. Opening your aperture, especially with a telephoto lens, will blur out the background of your image. And as I've mentioned before, the closer you get to your subject the more pronounced this effect will be.

Adding and Subtracting Visual Ingredients

Backgrounds are an effective space to add complexity or information into your photograph. If the situation allows, look around the area you're shooting in. You may notice details, lines, shapes, or objects that add to what you're trying to say in the photograph. When you go to compose the shot, keep those supporting elements in the image. And lose the elements that distract. Either compose them out of the shot or put your subject in front of them, so that your subject covers them up.

Remember that you are building an image. Great photography is much more than pointing and shooting. Think about your scene as if you were a painter, who gets to completely create their scene. If you were painting the photograph you're about to take, what would you leave out? And this isn't about PhotoShopping distractions out of your photographs later. It's always best to do it in your compositions.

Do Everything for a Reason

You may find a reason to keep the background of your photograph busy and distracting. For example, you might want to emphasize the chaos of a city street in your photograph. There's nothing wrong with a busy background, especially if you've used it for a reason. Every rule in photography can be broken. And a great photographer understands why they broke it.