I love a nice, woodsy plaid shirt, especially in the months of October and November. And I love using plaid in my photos, but for my photography style, it’s not without its challenges.
While it fits the rustic side of my photography it doesn’t quite fit the muted, neutral tones that I most often work with. It can grab a little too much attention, taking that from the intention and interpretation that I’ve set for the photo.
I find the best way to manage it is to first identify where that plaid is going to come from in the photo, and then the role it will play in the full scene. Let me give you a few examples.
The Plaid Napkin
Just like other prints, the boldness and brightness of a plaid napkin can pull your attention from the subject. The best course of action is to let it do that purposely.
In the photo below, your eyes go to the Christmas-like plaid before they take in the oatmeal. By doing so, you immediately think - holiday season. Then your eyes take in the food subject and the mood becomes warm and comforting.
Let plaid steal the attention from time to time. It can really set the mood.
Not comfortable with that? Just grab a corner of it in the frame of your shot.
The Plaid Blanket or Scarf
When photographing at a shallow depth of field, plaid can make moody, seasonal additions to a photo as the table cloth. It’s ever so slightly blurred allowing the food to stand out. It can also be fun to somehow color coordinate the plaid and your subject so that they work together.
The slight golden-yellow of this pumpkin granola goes well with the blues and yellows of this scarf that I spread over my surface before styling and photographing. But I also love how the black and white contrast with the red apples.
The Plaid Shirt
A great way to add a touch of plaid is to put it on a person in the photo. Of course, here we have a young farmer holding her chicken and grapes being harvested, but you can just as easily get those sleeves in frame through holding a mug of coffee, bowl of soup, or basket of produce.
