How to Use Foreground to Create Depth in Photography (Foreground in Photography)

Today I’m gonna give you a few tips on how you can achieve depth in your landscape photos by adding some foreground to them. Often when we are clicking, we can get so focused on the main subject, that we forget to think about incorporating a foreground element; this happens with me a lot. But there are a number of different and simple approaches we can use to add foreground to our images. So what are they?

1. Divide Your Image

You should be able to divide your image into 3 parts – foreground, middleground, and background. Well we mostly don’t have to work very hard to find the middleground and background coz the middleground can be the hills or the waterfall and background can be the sky, but you can go creative with them too. So when you are clicking make sure you can find these 3 layers in the scene and then proceed to click.

2. Get Low

My next tip is to get low. When I reached the beautiful hills of Malshej Ghat, I went mad and started clicking them. Then I realized, hey where is my foreground? So I looked around. There were a few flowers in the grass; so I went down, clicked my image through the flowers, and my job was done.

3. Settings

Whichever camera or lens you use, you need to ensure that all 3 layers of your photo are in focus. So using a small aperture, anything between f 8 to f 16, helps you achieve a sufficient depth of field. Try to set the least ISO you can. I mostly use ISO 100 and avoid raising it. Since I shoot in aperture priority, I don’t have to worry about the shutter speed. Mostly I shoot in golden hour or broad daylight and the images turn out fine. If the scene is dimly lit, I prefer to use a tripod and avoid increasing the ISO. If I use my point and shoot camera or mobile phone, I don’t have to worry about anything.

4. Shoot Wide

Shooting wide-angle, meaning with less than 35mm focal length, helps you get really close to a foreground element and exaggerate its importance relative to the background. So you can create a visual relationship between near and far as the wide angle helps you include more elements in the photo.

5. Leading Lines

Leading lines can be very compelling as foregrounds, encouraging the viewer to explore the composition and creating a high level of visual engagement. Try to include them in the form of roads, fences, poles, and what not! The ultimate goal is to lead the viewer on a path around the shot.

6. Look For Shapes

Your foreground, middleground, and background need not always be straight lines. Try to spot interesting shapes like triangles, diagonals, squares, spirals etc in the scene and include them as the layers of the photo. By selecting a relatively long shutter speed, the motion of the water blurred during the exposure, creating an interesting foreground shape.

7. Frame Within A Frame

Another idea is to use a frame in the foreground in order to compose your image. This frame can be anything a clump of trees, a window, some rocks, whatever you can find. So the viewer’s eye automatically is drawn to the scene.

Although you don’t need to include a foreground in every photograph you make, you will find that foregrounds add considerable depth to your landscape compositions.

I hope you liked my blog. Do let me know your suggestions and thoughts in the comments section. Thank you!

Also Read – Leading Lines in Photography