It’s interesting to see how moving into a new genre of photography impacts how you look at things.

With my recent move into the composite portraits it has caused a major shift in thinking. Locations are evaluated as potential backgrounds as well as standalone landscape images. The good background for a composite creates a powerful mood and doesn’t necessarily have a distinct center of interest. Thus a broken down building or wall of graffiti can transform from an ok subject to the perfect image.

There is also a difference between the picture made intentionally to be used as one of these backgrounds and those made as a standalone landscape, but can function in this role. The following image has a background that was purpose made for this composite. A wall covered in graffiti in an old abandoned building along the railroad.

The following image, however, started as a standalone landscape intended to show Christmas decorations in Salem, Oregon. When I decided to use it for this purpose, I colorized it to help with the intended mood and placed my portrait subject carefully over the Christmas tree. Christmas was totally not the sought after mood.

If you are interested in doing this sort of photography, always keep an eye out for potential backgrounds.

Maybe later I’ll write about how I can no longer look at an attractive woman without thinking what sort of portrait she’d look interesting in.