The environment around you can be used innovatively to create strong messages and to evoke emotions. You can include the colourful Ferris wheel at a fair to convey a sense of gaiety and fun; while the soft, frothy sea or even seashells half-buried in sand could be used convey tranquillity and peace. Similarly, if you include sets of swings and other rides in a playground while making a portrait of a child, then such a vivid background easily establishes a sense of place. Even unusual elements like neon signboards, bright street paintings or graffiti and fluorescent electric lights can add an eccentric, whacky feel to your image.
Photograph/Yarik Mishin