Composing Back to Front

Photographers are always looking for things to photograph. This can be a problem. It can be a problem because photographs, the really good ones that work as a picture, are not made of things. Subjects are important, but I think we can all agree that even the most amazing subject can take centre stage in what ends up being a boring photograph. A pretty thing does not, ipso facto, make a pretty picture. It’s possible to be blinded by our subjects, so seduced by them that we overlook the absence of any harmony of colour, any particular mood, or—often—that strong line in the background we didn’t even see when had the camera to our eye. Why didn’t we see it? Because our mind is engaged in real-life triage, trying to determine what matters and what does not. The bear matters. The colourful flower matters. The tree in the background, or that bright spot, or the mismatched colours, they don’t matter. Unless, of course, you’re making a picture. If you’re making a picture then they matter a…