When you are watching the final episode of your favorite television show, all your attention is on the TV—at least until crying is heard from the baby’s room in the “background.” Many times—and, oh my, do I mean many times—I have seen potentially great compositions get compromised by that “baby crying in the background,” which, of course, distracts the viewer from focusing on the main subject.

So how do you quiet the crying baby in the background? There are several ways. The first is so obvious that it reminds me of the guy who can’t find his reading glasses even though he has looked everywhere—except on top of his head. Do not shoot any composition where babies are crying in the background.

If you cannot avoid crying babies, then make sure they are fed and have a clean diaper. In other words, move your foreground subject, if possible, so it hides or covers up the distracting element, or change your point of view or lens. Background distractions are found just about everywhere between you and the finish line of a perfect arrangement, but with practice will come an astute eye. Sooner than you think, you will be quick to “hear” the cry and when you do, you will be just as quick to silence it.