So let's have a look at complex backdrops now so this is using a landmark. Now you could take this image with an iPhone or a smartphone. So I wanted the subject I wanted. This is a needle in London, I wanted that in the background, I wanted to shoot up on it a sense of authority and drama in the background. So this is a complex backdrop. So when we're using smartphone where you can't get that bokeh effect, sometimes just choose your backdrop Be very careful and structured.

Now you notice the light falling on his face, you can see the cloudy sky. It's a very cloudy day, but the light is actually the sun is coming from the cloud hitting his face. So we've got that light falling on the face. But we've also got the really interesting landmark in the background. So when we use complex backdrop sometimes use the complexity of the background in your favor. Now here's another thing to consider.

When you're choosing a backdrop for your portrait, consider context. Now let me explain this image once you have the contracts you're going to understand why this image makes sense. So this was a corporate portrait and this was to do with building work building sites. So we wanted the subject replaced in environments we went out we found a building site we just used it we have the light on the face of made sure we had that got the subject in the right place for the light and then we just use the background as context. Sometimes we just want to communicate what the image is about through the background. Here's the same again.

I love this guy. I loved his Look, I loved everything about him. You know, a lorry driver all his life mechanic gets in there gets amongst the muck Do you get me not afraid of hard work and I wanted to communicate that. So I provided context by making sure that the portray involved his lorry involved him His context in his environment and we placed in there, the light was nice as a just a simple cloudy days you can see soft light on his face. But we've got all this stuff going on. So when you're choosing a background context for the image is really important.

If we're to put this guy in front of a supermarket, it wouldn't have made any sense. So use what is connected to what she's connected to create that context. Now, when you look at this image, first, you might not realize how much of the elements have gone into this. Now we're going to do a full course on composition. So keep your eye out for that. But what I want you to notice here is the elements.

Now we've got some leading lines from the bike rack going back. So we've got the subject but we've got some leading lines. There's a busy backdrop, we have blurred it with our DSLR but what's happening is you've got some iconic items in the background. So on the right Right hand side you've got a sign we can just make out of the London Underground, and you've got a London postbox. I read postbox which is iconic. And that just places a subject in London.

So for anyone who would know London, they would know this is an image a street portrayed in London. And this is a commercial portray. This is me walking, doing a photo walk with the team, taking these images. And so as a very carefully position I don't want I didn't want him in front of the I wanted that to be seen and also wanted to be able to show the underground side and the leading lines of the bikes. I had to keep moving myself until I had him perfectly where I wanted him and all the compositional elements in the frame. So I'm choosing that background.

And I'm using these strong elements and rather than trying to hide them or avoid them, I'm actually using them to create some context. Now remember I said earlier about we wouldn't place That guy in front of the truck driver in front of a supermarket. Well, I've gone broke the rules here I've taken someone who's corporate, and I've placed them in front of some graffiti. Sometimes guys, you just got to go out and have some fun. You just got to put people in the wrong places. You know, it's, this is a tunneled area.

So again, we've got that tunnel defect light on his face. And then we've got this graffiti behind him. And I just wanted to create something just a bit edgy, noisy. Some people will look at this and say that's too noisy. There's too much going on. But I like it.

I like the juxtaposition of him against that background because they don't make sense. So just wanted to show you that sometimes guys, you can create a background that doesn't make sense in your images. And this is a great one for a project, find someone and place them against the background that makes no sense for the image and share that in the project area. That'd be a great project. Really, really interesting. So I just wanted to show you sometimes that you can create contrast you can break the rules.

It even comes down to family photos. This is just this guy before his birthday party is waiting for people to turn up all his friends. And we're just taking images of him on his bench sitting there waiting, nice light from the sun coming in, lighting up his face. And you could take this image with any camera. And it's just context, it's just making sure that we haven't got too much going on. We're just restricting it to the benches and plants and he's in the center, and he's just framed between the two uprights.

Really, really interesting, compelling, and I'm making sure that I'm using the environment he's in. And sometimes we just have to use the environment, but we keep it as clean as we possibly can. We've made this as clean as possible. There's no distracting elements. There's no bike handles poking into the edge of the image, evidence quite balanced and the image works because of it. Now again, you can see this is a similar shoot earlier, we've created this juxtaposition, but this time what we've done, we've got one person stepping forward in focus, and then the other people in the background.

So we're creating a subject focus. So I do this a lot in my photography, this is very obvious. And I wanted you to see this, when you've got lots of people just by creating focus on them, plus you have a DSLR, we can, you can get that bokeh effect, you can just soften the background out and just change the focus and make sure to focus on him, you can create some interesting compelling backgrounds. So don't think you can have people in your background just make sure the focus is on the main subject either by lighting them. If you remember the pool of light picture I showed you earlier with the couple where the lights on them that creates subject focus, or just simply by this just by focusing on one, I brought him far enough forward so the focus was on him and they were blurred.

So this little technique there for you. You want to create compelling interest around one subject amongst many And this one is about bouquets again. So we had one earlier where we use bouquet for a plain background. Now we're using bouquets to introduce complexity. So we've got some lights in the background, we've got some people and it's blaring out and we stuck in there and I wanted the interest I wanted something behind him or wanted a complex backdrops. I wanted to show you this just so you can see that when we're using creating backdrops or we're using situations, even when we use them, okay, we don't just use okay to kill a background, we sometimes use it to create that interest.

So I wanted to show this as a complex background as an alternative to the picture of Karen which I showed you earlier, where the background blur was softer, just let the background blur away but you don't always have to remove every element in the background.