The Visual Toolbox: 60 Lessons for Stronger Photographs

Lesson 38. Moments: Await Your Foreground

If I could encourage you to wait for one thing—beyond the sweeping generalization that all you have to do is wait for the light, the lines, and the moment to appear—it would be await your foreground. Over the last few years, as I’ve taken students around the world and we’ve sat talking about their photographs, I’ve noticed my observations beginning to fall into a few repeating patterns. One of those observations is this: You’ve got a really beautiful/interesting background. It’s gorgeous. But I feel like it’s an empty (though beautiful) stage awaiting the character, and the story can’t begin until the character shows up. Now, if your story is about the absence of that character and you want to express ...