Rules are everywhere

"Photography is still a very new medium and everything must be tried and dare... photography has no rules. It is not a sport. It is the result which counts, no matter how it is achieved"
~Bill Brandt

Pollen time
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Modifications: adjusted brightness & contrast levels, cropping, noise reduction

I started taking nature photos in the spring of 2007 using a Canon PowerShot A540. Back then, all I wanted was to have photos of ducks to upload to my Multiply page. Then I found out that the forum I frequent has a thread where members share their digital shots. I posted links to my photos and I am thankful because I got helpful tips from the regular posters of that thread. I realized that there is more to photography than pressing the shutter.

I am more famous in breaking rules than following them. So wasn't really happy when I read about the rules of photographic composition. I researched about the Rule of Thirds which sounded too complicated for me. Any sentence that mentions numbers will always be too difficult for me to understand. I was also a little hesitant to learn, because to me a hobby is supposed to be for fun, if there are rules then it would be a bit stressful. I got bored every time I read about basic stuff about photography until I realized that if I will not change my attitude towards learning new things, then I will never improve. My photos would probably be worse than photos taken by a 6-year-old. So I started to listen to criticism and I also followed my husband's advise and that was to think before pressing the shutter.

It took me a while before I understood what the rule of thirds is about. It's really very simple. The subject should not be in the center of the photograph. Divide the image by 2 vertical lines and 2 horizontal lines, the important elements of the image should be within the thirds. In the illustration below, the strong points must be in the red crosses.


Take the photo below as an example:


It's just the right spot for the beetle. Because if it was on the next dot, then there would have been useless empty space behind the beetle. It would also look like it was going out of the frame, thus directing the viewer's attention off the image and I don't want that to happen. The title of the photo is Journey, hence I wanted more space on the direction where the beetle was going. To view the image without lines click here.

I believe that I also observed the rule of thirds in this photo:

Bid me farewell
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 5.8 mm

I don't follow the rule of thirds all the time. In flower macros, for example, when the flower's center look very interesting, expect me to forget about the thirds. The shape and form of the subjects would sometimes dictate whether you should follow the rule of thirds or not. If you want to highlight symmetry, it would be fine if the subject is centered. Here are pieces of evidence showing that sometimes centering works:


Dare to break some rules once in a while. Don't be afraid of criticisms, bear in mind that you can never please everyone. If you are a newbie, don't feel bad if someone occasionally tells you where you went wrong. Never make your low-pixel camera as the scapegoat for poorly-composed shots, after all, you were the one who made that camera work by pressing the shutter. The photo is either good or bad because of the person behind the camera. Why? Because we have brain cells and our cameras don't. To me the number one rule is to make use of your brain, of course you can break this rule.. at your own risk.