Brick walls are everywhere, of course. The photo above is a small section of wall in Bell Buckle. The wall serves to set the atmosphere of the image. It gives the young man a reason to assume an interesting stance. The wall itself is not important but does serve to limit the distraction of this street scene.
Here are a few suggestions when taking brick wall photos. As with any photo advice, fell free to ignore it. What’s important in your photo is that you and your subject(s) like it!
- Bricks with character (old bricks) are good. (Pic 1)
- Uniform (new bricks) are good if the subject is wearing a colorful outfit.
- Use a shallow depth of field to give most of the wall a soft focus. (See Pic 2)
- Fill the frame (get close) so distracting elements are eliminated.
- Close-ups require nothing more than the model and the wall. Sharply focus on the nearest eye.
- If the color of brick clashes with the model’s outfit, remember you can always convert to B&W in post processing.
- Think about projecting an image on the wall. (Pic 3)
Some good rock walls can be found at:
- Old Stone Fort
- University of the South
- Point Park
Where is your favorite brick or rock wall?