Choosing
backgrounds quickly
One of the
best things about digital photography is that you can take numerous photos in a
short amount of time, without having to develop the film. A photo that you don’t like can easily be
erased forever, while a photo you do like can be kept forever.
An easy way
to choose a background is to clear away
the clutter from the background.
With henna being so intricate, it is important to keep your background
as simple as possible. You want your
background to add to the mood and message of your photo, not be the main
focus. Clearing away the clutter from
the background will help focus on your henna work in its “natural” environment. For example, taking away the clutter from a
henna photo at a wedding party will help the henna design pop out, even if the
only thing showing in the background are bright colors or bangles.
Another easy
background is to use a scarf, cloth,
pillow or furniture as your background.
Whatever you choose as the background, it will naturally fall in with
your photos mood. For example, if you
are doing henna at a park, you can easily use the picnic blanket or a park
bench as your background. When doing
henna at home, you can simply use your area run, counter or floor as the
background.
Another
example is to use whatever is close by
and purposely place it in the background of your subject to help deliver
the message of your photo. In the
previous example, we utilized a Buddha statue in the background to help deliver
the message of balance and peace in the mandala henna design on the knee. Another example is of using the fireplace to
deliver the message of comfort and warmth in the henna soles photo.
A fourth
easy background is to use a solid color. Using white as the background portrays a
sense of clean, simple, and sterile, while using a pattern in the background
can depict party, entertaining, or spontaneous.
A simple to
use background is to use nature and the
outdoors as the background. You can
use the grass for easy feet designs, or a flower bed for hand/arm/shoulder
designs. These portray a sense of
natural and organic when you have nature in your background. Another example is to use the beach or the
mountains as your background. Having the
beach may portray a sense of vacation, relaxation, and heat, while having
mountains in the background may portray a sense of adventure or exploring new
things. You can also use planks on a
boardwalk, a bed of rocks, or a concrete sidewalk as backgrounds.
Whatever your situation, it is important to make sure
you are able to choose your background quickly.
Chances are, unless you have a planned photo shoot, your subject will
not have the patience to sit through one, and taking a snap of your work should
not be hard work. It should depict your
hard work of applying henna, but also set the mood and message of your photo
quickly.
Next week, we will go over how to position your subject for photo taking. Until then, happy hennaing!