Layers by Jo Martindale

Hi! Jo here! I’m amum of 2 littles based near Cambridge, in the UK. I’m also a hobbyist photographer and a neuroscientist by training (but currently working on Covid and expanding my virology knowledge rapidly!). I started to learn photography almost 2 years ago now–with my main driver being to capture all the little milestones and day to day aspects of our family life in a beautiful way, I pretty quickly threw myself into a 365 to help me learn as fast as possible, and I’m still going! The scientist in me LOVES the technical side of photography and I’m delighted to be able to share a few tips on how I capture layers within my images.

What are layers? Typically, using layers in photography is a compositional technique to add depth to the photo. This is achieved by including foreground and background into your image, along with your subject. Including these elements not only provides visual interest, but also provides an opportunity to add additional details to the story you are telling.

What kind? You can include layers in your images with whatever you are shooting with. I often remind myself to step back a little to include some foreground and, naturally, a wide angle lens will help when trying to incorporate foreground elements. My go to lens is my 24mm, which I almost exclusively use indoors (but remember –I live in the UK and our houses are generally waaaay smaller than in the US!). This helps me shoot in even the tiniest of spaces, like our downstairs toilet!

How? So how do I go about including layers? First, the easy bit, identify your subject! You will almost always have a background in your image (unless you are using a plain back drop) and this will contribute to the story you are telling by providing information about the location you are in. I always try to ensure that there aren’t any distracting or irrelevant aspects to the background and either move them, or my subject, if I can (or edit it outin post). The element that I often find trickier to incorporate is the foreground. Bear in mind, this needs to be relevant to the story and visually appealing to be effective. Below are a few different techniques that I use to incorporate the foreground into my images.

1. Get low! If you don’t mind getting dirty clothes or looking silly then lay on the floor while shooting, or at least hold your camera down low. This is a great way to include the ground as your foreground and a brilliant way to add depth. In the images below, I shot low to include the grasses in the foreground and the big puffy clouds in the sky as the background as well as the pebbles in the photo of my children watching my husband arrive home in the background.

2. Use frames: Framing your subject provides visual interest and draws the viewer directly to the subject. You can also use the frame to provide clues about where you are and add to your storytelling. You can find frames everywhere. In the image below, I used the doorway to frame my children sneaking into the snack cupboard. This gives the impression that you are peeping in on the moment as well as adding depth to the image. In the next image, I used a natural frame with the blossom trees in the foreground and captured my daughter walking though, with hints of the rest of the orchard in the background.

3. Find lines: Using lines that run through your scene from the foreground to the background can be a great way to create depth and also lead your viewers eyes to the subject. In the first example below, the lines of both the ropes and the trees frame my daughter and draw your eyes through the image from the foreground to the background. In the second image the lines are created by shadows but work in the same way.

4. Shoot close: I know, I know, I said step back earlier, but shooting close to the action also works! Being close can bring some of the action itself into the foreground of the image –in the first example below, my daughter was helping me make our annual batch of sloe gin. The bottle in the foreground adds to the story by providing some more details while adding depth. In the second example, I caught my daughter throwing a snowball at me, with the snowball in the foreground and the snowy scene as the backdrop.

And closer still...With close ups or creative crops, all the same principles apply, identify your subject and find the foreground. When photographing my son splashing in the sink, I shot from lower down. This helped get the light on the water splash, but also pulled the front of the sink into the foreground. And finally, in the chalk rainbow image, the subject is my daughters hand drawing with the chalk. I lay on the patio for this and shot along the rainbow for the foreground and my daughter is in the background.

I hope some of my tips help you have fun shooting layers this month! Looking forward to seeing the images you share.