The foreground, or all the shit physically between your camera and the subject, can add a unique element to a photo and create additional depth. Let’s take a look at some different ways to accomplish this.

So, how do you go about including something in the foreground? Well, the first step is to walk around and have a look at the place you are shooting. Is there something on the ground or standing up that you could (and would want to) include, like a fence, a tree, a railing, etc.? Found it? Good. Didn’t? No sweat, can’t win ‘em all.

If you did manage to find something though, the next step is to put whatever you found between yourself and the car in an interesting way. Feel it out by stepping back, left, right, getting higher or lower, etc. Once you’ve found an angle or angles that you like, shoot away!

The picture above includes some concrete barriers across the street at the bottom of the frame. This is the simplest way to include bits of the foreground. Just take your shot in a way to include stuff between your camera and the car. This gives the viewer some perspective of distance. It’s a good start, but there is something else we can do. The picture below uses the same 2 concrete barriers, but I crouched down and used them to frame the subject.

🔰noob tip: you don’t have to play it as it lies. Don’t be afraid to move things (or your car) to get the shot you want.

If it has a hole or a gap, you can use it in your shot to make a frame. Don’t just look at the edges though. Sometimes, there’s other stuff around the second frame that you might want to include. Depth of field can be used to blur the foreground or keep it in focus.

Depending on what you choose to include in the foreground, it can add a bit of a story/feeling to the photo. The story for this one is: “How do I not have a quarter… whoah, an FR-S!” … ugh, that was lame. Give me a break, it’s been a couple months since the last post haha.

Well, there you go. Including stuff in the foreground is a cool way to spice up a shot. Give it a try!

Thanks for reading!