Add your own backdrop for contrast
One tactic for making background distractions melt away is to set a wide aperture on the camera (see the following pages for more details). Blurring the background doesn’t always work, though, as areas of high contrast (such as slivers of pale sky) or bright colours will still draw the eye. One option to consider is to pack an A4-sized piece of dark-coloured card in your camera bag. You can use this card to provide a clean backdrop (as shown here, on the right). Just be ready to reduce the exposure if the camera makes everything too bright.