This may be a bit of a cheesy example, but how do you deal with a jealous boyfriend or girlfriend? Provided you want to keep this jealous lover around, you would naturally give them the assurance that he or she is the only person for you. Well funny enough that's the way you should treat the subject of your photo. The subject should be the center of attention, no more, no less. Like a jealous girlfriend or boyfriend, your subject should never compete with other elements in the photo. To give your subject the attention it deserves, you must always be conscious of the background.

Backgrounds can make or break a picture. Sure, your subject is the hero of your photo but getting the background right is equally important. Your aim is for the viewer to be drawn first into the subject and take in the background as just that, a background.

There's no hard and fast rules about what you should include in the background, but there's a few things you shouldn't and they are:
<ol>
	<li><strong>Clutter, clutter, clutter!</strong></li>

<br class="spacer_" />
<div><a title="Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) by nutmeg66, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachel_s/3256199478/">[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="600" height="596" alt="" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Wren.jpg"]</a>
</div></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)</em>
Photo by nutmeg66</p>
<br class="spacer_" />



Clutter doesn't look good in your living room, and it sure as heck doesn't look good in your photos either. Not only does a busy background compete with the subject for attention, but if there is too much going on the viewers’ eyes roam around never knowing where to look.
	<li><strong>Avoid strange objects that clearly don't belong.</strong></li>



<br class="spacer_" />
<div><a title="365-224-Avoid distracting backgrounds by Stephan Modry, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smotography/4516322862/">[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="600" height="440" alt="" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DistractingBackground.jpg"]</a>
</div></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>365-224-Avoid distracting backgrounds</em>
Photo by Stephan Modry</p>
<br class="spacer_" />






I'm willing to bet that the guy in the photo above didn't know he had those strange things growing out of his head...? Its funny for a minute, but doesn't exactly make for a good photographic composition. When taking portraits its all too easy to miss these comical elements in the background so be sure to check for tree branches, balloons, or other strange objects sticking out of places where they clearly shouldn't.</ol>
<br class="spacer_" />

You can easily improve your photos by employing the techniques below:
<ol>
	<li>Change the composition and/or angle you are shooting with. By moving a few steps to the left or right, rotating around your subject, or change angles you can eliminate those pesky distractions in the background.</li>

	<li>Move your subject in front of a cleaner and less busy background. If you can't find anything that is appealing a blank wall might be the best option to really focus on the subject. </li>

	<li>Zoom in closer with your lens, or physically move closer to the subject to crop out unnecessary objects in the background.</li>
&nbsp;</ol>
Great photography is about being observant, so be sure to take note of the background and surrounding elements of every photograph before snapping! 