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PhotoPlay: Do You Want to Break the Rules?
My first grade teacher duct-taped my mouth closed. From there she proceeded to question me as to why I asked so many questions in her class and why I simply could not accept the facts presented to me. I tried to answer her but between the duct tape and her spittle, I decided the best plan was to keep quiet.
While sitting in the corner mulling over this situation and feeling terribly sorry for myself, I decided that some rules were meant to be broken.
I’ve had to temper this decision with wisdom through the years as not all rules are meant to be broken, but it has served me particularly well in photography.
Photography rules need to be broken. That is, of course, if you’d like to grow as a photographer.
Thirds
The rule of thirds is one of the most common. Dividing your image into three parts can occur horizontally or vertically. You then need to position your focal point into one of those thirds and preferably leave the other two-thirds free from distractions.
- Kelly applies this rule in the following images:
The rule of thirds makes for very good photography but it can be broken in the following ways:
- The thirds can be divided further into ninths with the focal point falling into one of these sections. Darlene’s sign takes up roughly one-ninth of the image:
- Two-thirds of the image can be used for the focal point instead of only one-third. Nancy and Ann have captured this very well:
Get your camera out, find a focal point, divide your screen in thirds and shoot. Or break the rule in one of the ways mentioned above. Share your shots over at my blog by Wednesday, July 21 for a feature in the HCB gallery next week.
"Boy Rubber Boots" photo by A Simple Country Girl. Used with permission. Post by Claire Burge.
Further reading:
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds
http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/thirds.html
http://ruleofthirdsphotography.com/
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