Okay, maybe "rebel" is a strong word. How about "light rule breakers"?
Today I'd like to impart why it's not always in our best aesthetic interests to follow the rules of photography. We're all taught those rules in first and second semester photography. You know the ones: "Rule of thirds!", "Keep your horizon lines straight!", "Always photograph children down on their level!".
If you didn't follow these rules, your grade suffered.
Well suffer no more! We're bustin' out of this joint and today we're gonna run with scissors...photographically speaking.
First rule: RULE OF THIRDS
This rule was implemented to keep folks from chopping their picture in half via horizon line. In other words, this is unacceptable:
Why? Because it's boring. Half sky, half ground, all boring.
However, why must it be "Rule of Thirds"? Why discriminate against all of those other perfectly good fractions? Play around with it a bit. If the sky is gorgeous, use LOTS of it! If the ground has awesome scenery, use lots of that.
Ask yourself, "Where do I want my viewer's eye to focus in my image?" When at all possible, frame it in the viewfinder. Cropping is great, but it also cuts down your resolution, decreasing the largest realistic output size.
Rule #2: ALWAYS KEEP THOSE HORIZON LINES STRAIGHT!
Okay, I'll admit it. This one's a sore spot with me because one of my photography teachers and I butted heads over this one. I don't even remember the image, but I remember him making a big deal about it. All humiliations aside, I still think this is a great rule at which to thumb your nose....usually.
But what fun are images if we must keep them level at all times? We don't keep our heads level all of the time. Have some fun with it!:
Rule #3: PHOTOGRAPH CHILDREN FROM THEIR OWN LEVEL
This one is actually a good rule for a majority of child photographs. Pictures of kids just look so much better when they are taken on their level and not from the adult's point-of-view. But again, this blog is about being a rebel, chewing gum in the library, smokin' in the boy's room, or...um....not following the standard rules of photography 101.
With kids, ANY angle can be a fun angle! As always, try to let the kids call the shots. To pose them is to strip them of what makes them what they are...children.
Lay on the ground, shoot from above, emphasize thay little tushy as that ballerina takes her bow after her dance. Anything but the "looky here and smile!":
Rule #4: CENTER YOUR SUBJECT!
To that I give a hearty.....NOT! Of course, for certain things it's obligatory. The formal posed bridal images are usually (USUALLY) best composed as centered. But there's a whole world out there that's just a little out-of-whack. Why can't we reflect that in our imaging?
Just don't go nuts with it. Make sure your off-centeredness serves some purpose :)
Rule #5: WATCH THE BACKGROUND!
While this rule was designed to remind the photographer to keep the background simple and non-distracting, that would defeat the purpose of this blog! I say, "Watch the background...and see what you catch!":
Today I'd like to impart why it's not always in our best aesthetic interests to follow the rules of photography. We're all taught those rules in first and second semester photography. You know the ones: "Rule of thirds!", "Keep your horizon lines straight!", "Always photograph children down on their level!".
If you didn't follow these rules, your grade suffered.
Well suffer no more! We're bustin' out of this joint and today we're gonna run with scissors...photographically speaking.
First rule: RULE OF THIRDS
This rule was implemented to keep folks from chopping their picture in half via horizon line. In other words, this is unacceptable:
However, why must it be "Rule of Thirds"? Why discriminate against all of those other perfectly good fractions? Play around with it a bit. If the sky is gorgeous, use LOTS of it! If the ground has awesome scenery, use lots of that.
Ask yourself, "Where do I want my viewer's eye to focus in my image?" When at all possible, frame it in the viewfinder. Cropping is great, but it also cuts down your resolution, decreasing the largest realistic output size.
Rule #2: ALWAYS KEEP THOSE HORIZON LINES STRAIGHT!
Okay, I'll admit it. This one's a sore spot with me because one of my photography teachers and I butted heads over this one. I don't even remember the image, but I remember him making a big deal about it. All humiliations aside, I still think this is a great rule at which to thumb your nose....usually.
But what fun are images if we must keep them level at all times? We don't keep our heads level all of the time. Have some fun with it!:
Rule #3: PHOTOGRAPH CHILDREN FROM THEIR OWN LEVEL
This one is actually a good rule for a majority of child photographs. Pictures of kids just look so much better when they are taken on their level and not from the adult's point-of-view. But again, this blog is about being a rebel, chewing gum in the library, smokin' in the boy's room, or...um....not following the standard rules of photography 101.
With kids, ANY angle can be a fun angle! As always, try to let the kids call the shots. To pose them is to strip them of what makes them what they are...children.
Lay on the ground, shoot from above, emphasize thay little tushy as that ballerina takes her bow after her dance. Anything but the "looky here and smile!":
Rule #4: CENTER YOUR SUBJECT!
To that I give a hearty.....NOT! Of course, for certain things it's obligatory. The formal posed bridal images are usually (USUALLY) best composed as centered. But there's a whole world out there that's just a little out-of-whack. Why can't we reflect that in our imaging?
Just don't go nuts with it. Make sure your off-centeredness serves some purpose :)
Rule #5: WATCH THE BACKGROUND!
While this rule was designed to remind the photographer to keep the background simple and non-distracting, that would defeat the purpose of this blog! I say, "Watch the background...and see what you catch!":
This DJ thought his singing would entertain the guests. The flower girl thought otherwise!
So there you have the top five "rules to break" in modern photography :)
J.
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