This post is about removing clutter to allow better focus on the subject of a photograph. There’s definitely a deeper lesson here, but that’s not what this post is about (there’s a great post on this over here if you’re interested.) We don’t always get to shoot in the most ideal conditions. Even when we get to shoot in ideal conditions, there are some simple steps that we can take to help the eye focus on the intended subject of the photo. Some of these steps are in camera, and some of them are in post.

In camera, you want to try to block objects that may cause the eye to wander from the subject of the photograph. Look for things like leading lines, rocks, cars, bins, branches, trees, dark shadows, etc. You want to try to frame your shot the best you can. That’s not to say that there isn’t some visual interest that can’t be added, and you may not want to get too sterile, but try to find an angle that will allow for the right light and will let the main thing be the main thing.

In editing, you can look for those elements that cause clutter, and clean them up. It may take a little time to get used to finding them, but with time, you’ll get used to finding them. You’ll want to clean them up, but not make the photo too sterile or unrealistic. Here’s an example below…

This isn’t a tutorial on how to use the tools to do the work, there’s plenty of those out there on YouTube. Instead, this is meant to help you see things a little differently. You can see in the example above that I was looking to remove clutter that would distract from the main subject of the photo. I removed several items from the photo to help the subject become the main focus. Notice how in the before photo, your eye wanders when the photo is cluttered, and how once the photo is cleaned up, it’s easier to focus on the subject of the photo. It’s just as, if not more important, to see what you need to do, as it is to be able to do it.

I used Photoshop, copied the background layer, and went to work with the Stamp and Content Aware Fill tools. I removed the lamp post because it drew the eye off to the right. I removed the stop sign for the same reason. The bush on the right had some light that poked through the bottom of it that drew my eye to it, so I removed it as well. Palm trees in the distance infamously turn into floating blobs when you shoot shallow (I shot this at 85mm F/1.4), so I like to remove them, since they can be distracting. There’s a blue recycling bin in the background that I removed as well, I cleaned a light spot off a wall in the background, removed some rocks and some grass clumps and a little bit of flyaway hair. There are, of course, other elements that could have been cleaned. the red flag on the mailbox for instance, some more of the branches on the bottom of the bush, etc. There’s a balance between cleaning everything and being too sterile, and not not cleaning enough. It’s important to find that balance.

When you look at the before and after of this photo, you can see how removing clutter can help bring subjects into focus. Even in less-than-ideal photography conditions, a little clutter cleanup can go a long ways towards making a photo work.