Framing is a great way to put focus on the subject of your picture and adds intrigue to the overall photo. The best part of all, though, is that it often isn’t very difficult to do and if done successfully can really take a good subject and make it incredible.

So how do you frame? You simply find something that will overlay around the subject of your photo. For example, in the photo here where the toddler is busy at play. I quietly took one of her toys with a hoop on it and positioned it and myself in such a way that she was in the center of it. Now the important thing to note here is more often then not you’ll have to position yourself and the frame around the subject. It is usually easier to have the subject stay put and you move rather than the other way around. If I moved this toddler, it would have disrupted her focus and good luck getting a toddler to focus on anything in exactly the same way.

See nothing around to frame with? Two solutions:

1) Bring something.

2) Think outside of the box.

Bring something – you don’t have to limit your photoshoots to just photography equipment. If you are familiar with an event, location, or even family you are going to be photographing you can bring items that compliment that shoot including items that might help you do some framing. For the toddler above, I could have brought a literal frame and had her hold it as I took the picture. It just takes some planning ahead, but you should be planning anyway.

Think outside of the box – You are rarely photographing in a void. In the picture above there were toys. When I shoot weddings, I grab two wine glasses and position them in a way that they frame the subject. If I am outdoors, I grab some long grass and hold it close to my lens to great nature frame or use the branches of a short tree. The point is, there is always something to be used for framing. It just takes a little outside of the box thinking. Yes, it can be a challenge, but the good news is the more you challenge yourself to come up with things to frame with the better you get at thinking up things to frame with. So just keep trying.