What’s wrong with this picture?

Sometimes small details escape our attention. It happens to me, too. In this case, I didn’t see the problem until I looked at the LCD screen and noticed the error. If you look at the lantern at the right side of the image, it’s right in front of the palm trunk. This isn’t a huge faux pas, but it’s not ideal. The tree trunk partially obscures and interferes with the graphic shape of the lantern.

This was easily corrected once I noticed it. I stepped to my left about 3 inches and composed the lantern between the trees as you can see on the next page. This is much better. This picture has different kinds of elements with a variety of designs, textures, and color. It was easy to overlook this one aspect of the image, but upon close examination I noticed it.

As a mental discipline, I try and remember to run my eyes around the viewfinder every time I take a picture. Only for a fraction of a second. In that brief amount of time, I can check the background, the edges of the frame, and the subject itself looking for obvious flaws: distracting elements, confusing backgrounds, anything interfering with the graphic design of the composition, highlights that might blow out, etc.

When things are happening fast, as in action shots, it’s possible to do this but usually you won’t have the time. You have to focus on getting the subject sharp. But with static subjects like this medieval tower in Marrakesh, Morocco, I had all the time in the world to notice the issue with the lantern. As you gain experience in photography, your visual accuity becomes keener and you start to see things you never saw before. I always claim that photography really taught me to see. §