Crappy background

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Frank McBride

Frank McBride

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A story from a Texas TV newscast (I won't incriminate anyone) tonight included an interview with a woman speaking thoughtfully about a family member lost in WWII whose remains had finally been found. All the while over her right shoulder is an open bathroom door and the toilet as clear and large as her face.

At some point somebody looked at the screen and said, "Oh, sh*t!"

Aside from the WFAA naked football player, do any other background boo-boos come to mind?

FMc
 
I can't think of any off hand but I truly think the background makes or breaks a great story.
 
I've seen poles growing out of people's heads, heads floating in outer space because everything around it is black, and ugly white walls.

Background is key. It's up to the photog to sound the alarm if something doesn't look right.
 
Saw a story at my old shop where there was a "hi my name is..." sticker on the wall behind the subject. On the sticker was "f*@k the police". It ran thru 3 shows before someone caught it.

Rival staion was on a mardi gras live shot when some woman decided to take off her top.
 
oh man... it took me three hours to get the joke on the subject line of this thread. Quite nice... :)
 
Svp is overly right .The background does make or brake a story.I mean really how hard is it to set up for a good background. Sorry to hear that it happened in Texas I hope not in Houston because that is were I learned how to shoot from many great photojournalists aka (khou)/(txn). Does anyone know about depth and hairlight anymore or is that just to hard to think about. It really bugs me to see an interview done right next to a wall , bathroom etc. It is a tool kit use the right tools for the job. Does a plumber come in and say I'll just jimmie the plastic pipe with a jackhammer. I mean come on let's do this right.
 
Svp is overly right .The background does make or brake a story.I mean really how hard is it to set up for a good background. Sorry to hear that it happened in Texas I hope not in Houston because that is were I learned how to shoot from many great photojournalists aka (khou)/(txn). Does anyone know about depth and hairlight anymore or is that just to hard to think about. It really bugs me to see an interview done right next to a wall , bathroom etc. It is a tool kit use the right tools for the job. Does a plumber come in and say I'll just jimmie the plastic pipe with a jackhammer. I mean come on let's do this right.
 
One of the things I was taught early to do as a young shooter, was to look at the WHOLE frame.

We have guys who spend so much time looking at the subject and lighting it, they forget whats in the background. People will not notice the subject if the background is distracting or annoying or catching our eye for some reason.

Seen all the classics, lights in shot, booms, shadows, reflections, stickers. Its usually come from not scanning the whole frame. Whether its lit properly is yet another whole topic. Mind you I find bad hair or crooked ties and collars annoying as well and I think why did the cameraman not fix that collar. Perhaps he never saw it.

A classic example is when you do a live X in a crowd. They all want to be on telly in the background, and I am always looking for the idiot to wave to mum!

To me its all about composition and that means EVERYTHING thats in the frame. So yes the background is equally important, whether to simply look nice or to be more relevant and perhaps show the viewer where we are.
 
Originally posted by Widescreen:


We have guys who spend so much time looking at the subject and lighting it, they forget whats in the background. People will not notice the subject if the background is distracting or annoying or catching our eye for some reason.
Click to expand...
Lighting the subject is the easy part, lighting the background is where you will earn your money.
 
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