It might be that it's already very basic to know about the parts of a photograph and we don't need to talk about it anymore. However, no matter how basic it is, it is still essential to know them for us to learn how they come to play in the art of photography.

If you're holding a photograph right now, what can you see? Is their any part that draws your attention more than the others? If there is, why do you think so that a certain part of a picture attracts you more?

Before going to the parts of a photograph, I wanted to liken photography to cooking (though I'm not really a good cook). In cooking a dish, there are ingredients that are more important compared to the others. These more important ingredients are the ones that you really wanted those who will eat the food to enjoy.

In the same manner, it is crucial to learn the parts of a photograph for us to know how to "serve" a good photograph for people to see.

Okay let's now then jump in into it.

There are actually three parts of a photograph. I'm not saying however that every photo has these three parts. Some might have only two and even only one part for some. Let's see then those three parts:

1. Foreground

Foreground is any element in a photograph that is placed in front of a subject. It is usually utilized to frame the subject. It also adds beauty in a photograph specially in the depth of field (DOF) technique. Photographers usually blur the foreground and let the subject sharp (or the other way around) to show depth in a photograph. This makes the photo look more 3D. This part however must just be a supporting detail and must not be more attention getting compared to the subject.

2. Subject

Subject is what makes a photograph a real photograph. What do I mean by that? Well, without a subject, the photo is useless. As one of the parts of a photograph, it serves as the main element. It is what we really wanted to show. Therefore, it must capture more attention compared to any part of a photograph.

3. Background

Any element placed at the back of the subject is the background. This can be natures like mountains or ocean or simply a plain colored wall. The role of a background being one of the parts of a photograph is like being a container that contains the subject. Again, this part of a photo must just be a supporting details to the subject so it must be lesser in getting attention.

As I said, not every photograph has all these parts. Some have only subject and background without any foreground. Macro photographs (extreme close ups) even have only a subject and do not have any foreground and background.

Knowing these parts of a photography will also help us in our photography composition. It helps us to check what we really wanted to show in our photo and therefore give it more attention.

Go ahead then and maximize this skill and create good photocomposition and apply it also in your video production. This is also applicable in video shooting.