GIVE US YOUR SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK ABOUT THE SITE
We will send you an E-mail every time there is a new article in your favorite section. Sign-Up For ALERTS.

No Merging Allowed! by Russ Burden Russ Burden provides some advice on composition and why it's important to let important elements be separate in your photographs Article rating: 8.53

While out on the road, I often see yellow caution signs - “Lanes Merge - Drive with Care.” I love to ski and being the careful person I am, I take care when I see a sign that says, “Trails Merge - Slow Down.” I’ve heard boaters talk about how careful they need to be when they go through a narrow channel where different waterways Merge. As photographers, we need to heed the same warning when it comes time to create a composition. As a matter of fact, I’d like to market a little yellow warning sign that could be placed on the back of a camera reminding photographers to be on the lookout for mergers before pressing the shutter.

Avoiding mergers is a very important guideline to follow when making a composition. A merger occurs when important elements in the photo overlap, touch the edge of the frame, or blend in tonality preventing separation, all in awkward ways. The quintessential example is the tree growing out of Aunt Sally’s head. In that the tree merges with her, it gives the appearance that the trunk or branches are part of her being. You’d think it would be obvious and very easy to avoid, but the fact of the matter is the photographer is usually so zeroed in on the main subject, the rest of the image area is overlooked. I encourage you to study the entire viewfinder for any and all mergers before pressing the shutter. This takes practice and patience but it will net you better images in the end.

In the pair of images of the prairie falcon, although it’s subtle, there’s a tone merger. In the first shot of the pair, in that the color of the feathers on the head and the background are similar in tone, separation of the subject’s head and background doesn’t exist. By simply moving a few feet to my left, I solved the problem. It allowed the entire bird to separate from the background making its outline clearly discernible.

In the two photos of the trees, there’s a merger where the main subjects touch. In the first, although the large tree acts as a nice frame for the two smaller ones, the image falls short as the overlooked detail of a merger exists. To place the finishing touch on the second image, I simply lowered the tripod so the tops of the smaller trees separated from the bottom of the large one.

In the last pair of photos, the action in the second photo is much more dynamic and it fills the frame in a more interesting way. In the first picture, even though the horse and handler are two separate entities, they do touch and the action is static. Notice how much more dynamic the second photo is as there’s total separation, even to the point where the front legs of the horse don’t merge.

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.

^ Back to top

	Thanks a lot, SOUND Advice for everybody before you press the shutter button.Look for details at the background and how far it will add values for your final image. Posted by: lakshmansastrimahaprasad Apr 3, 2007 @ 12:8 PM EST
	Never thought about it. Avoiding mergers makes good sense. Posted by: sidney l. gordon Apr 6, 2007 @ 2:37 PM EST
	This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. The photographs provided excellent examples of what to avoid when setting up a shot. Posted by: Joe Zimmer Apr 11, 2007 @ 3:52 PM EST
	Very interesting, never thought about merging backgrounds, still a bit to learn Posted by: Malcolm Riddell Apr 14, 2007 @ 2:9 PM EST

* Your Name:
* Email address:
	(Enter the code shown)
	(Your e-mail address will not show on the site and is used so that we can contact you back if needed)
* Your Comment about this article::
	Include me in the TGP Monthly Newsletter