Depth Maps: A Seven-Day Practice for Building Layers in Everyday Photos

Why layers matter

Depth is the difference between a snapshot and a place you can step into. Layers tell a small story: this is near, that is far, this is important, that is context. When you learn to compose with foreground, midground and background working together, your images feel intentional and alive. This week’s practice is about seeing those planes and nudging them into better relationships, whether you’re shooting with a phone, a mirrorless camera, or whatever you carry on your hip.

How to use this practice

Spend 15–40 minutes each day. Walk somewhere familiar — a street, a park, your kitchen — and do the short exercise. Don’t chase perfection. The point is to build your eye. Keep an album or a folder called Depth Maps; at the end of the week pick three images to annotate and learn from. Small gear note: a lens that lets you change perspective (wide to normal to short tele) helps, but is not required.

Day 1 — Invite a foreground ally

Find something close to the camera — a fence post, a leaf, the edge of a cup — and let it poke into the frame. Make it a supporting actor, not a curtain. The foreground anchor gives viewers a sense of distance. Move the camera so the foreground element overlaps the midground subject slightly; that overlap creates a believable spatial relationship. Try shallow depth of field to blur that near object, and then try stopping down so it reads sharp. Which feels more like depth?

Day 2 — Midground as protagonist

Pick a subject at arm’s length to two steps away and make it the hero. Treat the midground like the scene’s protagonist and compose around it. Use the foreground to frame or lead to it, and let the background supply context rather than compete. Consider placing the subject off-center and using diagonal lines from the foreground to point toward it. This week is about relationships, so notice which arrangement feels most natural.

Day 3 — Background: not just wallpaper

Backgrounds can lift or drown your subject. Today, move until the background supports the story. Soft gradients of tone or repeating patterns can add scale. If the background is messy, use a wider aperture, a change in angle, or a different focal length to simplify it. Conversely, a striking background can become a second character — a mural behind a pedestrian, a city skyline behind a cafe chair. Balance is the goal.

Day 4 — Light as a layer separator

Light separates planes. Side light, rim light and backlight create edges that read as depth. Find a subject where light grazes the midground and leaves the background darker, or vice versa. Watch how catchlights or rim highlights lift a subject off the backdrop. If the scene seems flat, change your shooting angle by a few steps to catch a bit more side light. Also try exposing for the highlights to pull dimension from contrast.

Day 5 — Scale, repetition and intervals

Use repeating elements — fence posts, windows, bicycles — to show depth through diminishing size and spacing. Place a person or object among repeating elements to give the viewer a measure of distance. This is also the day to play with scale contrasts: a tiny figure against a large architectural element suddenly reads expansive. Compose so the spacing between repeats forms a visual cadence leading your eye deeper into the frame.

Day 6 — Motion and parallax

Depth isn’t only static. Move around a stationary subject while photographing, or photograph something moving past a layered scene. Parallax, the way nearby objects shift faster than distant ones as you move, is a powerful cue. Try slow shutter speeds to blur a moving foreground against a sharper midground, or freeze a moving subject while the background streaks. Both approaches suggest spatial relationships through motion.

Day 7 — Compose a layered portrait

Combine everything: foreground anchor, clear midground subject, supportive background, and thoughtful light. Make an intentional portrait where each layer contributes meaning. It can be a person, a pet, or an object that stands in for a person. Direct the subject (if applicable) to interact with the environment — a glance toward the background, leaning on a foreground rail — to reinforce the spatial narrative. Review earlier shots and pick the version that best reads with depth.

After the week — small projects

Now that you have seven practice days, try one of these mini-projects: a diptych pairing a shallow and a deep version of the same scene; a three-frame sequence showing foreground, midground, background focus shifts; or a local series where every image has a prominent foreground object. Annotate one favorite image with notes about why certain layers work. The act of explaining will solidify what you learned.

Quick settings cheat

Phone: tap to focus on midground, lock exposure; use portrait mode sparingly. Mirrorless/DSLR: wide aperture (f/2.8–f/5.6) for shallow foreground blur; f/8–f/11 for deeper plane separation. Shutter: keep it fast enough for handheld, or slow with a tripod to introduce motion blur in specific layers.

Depth is quieter than flash; it asks you to notice relationships. Practice noticing, and the camera will follow.

If you want, share three images from your Depth Maps folder next week. I’ll look over them and point out where the layers read well and where a small shift could make the scene feel more three-dimensional. Until then, keep an eye out for that foreground ally — they’re everywhere, just waiting to help your photos breathe.