What’s wrong with this picture?
I
photographed this 5-year old little girl at the Jember Fashion Carnaval in Jember, Indonesia, and I like everything about this picture except for the white out of focus element in the upper right corner. Backgrounds are just as important as subjects in making an image work. No matter how great a subject is, if one or more things in the background draw your eye away from where it should be -- directed to the subject -- then it’s distracting. While dark elements can be very distracting, usually it’s the light elements that are the most bothersome. In looking at this portrait, notice that your eye is constantly drawn to the upper right corner. That white spot pulls your attention to it almost automatically. That’s not how a successful picture is supposed to work.
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