Concepts of Composition:To be Continued

[Preacherman]

I am continuing to read my book on Composition and intend to continue sharing it with you for a time. I took the following two pictures using some of the "Rules" (Aaaaghhh) stated, simply because I intend to follow and learn all that the book is portraying. The "rules" however can take the fun out of photography if you do not rebel and experiment. What they (the rules) have done for me however, is make me do just that. I experimented with a flower and these are two of my favourites from the session. The first is based on the basic rule of thirds, and the second on "The Golden Section" rule. Without studying the book I would probably have taken a typical snapshot. Hope you like them.

[mpascal]

Hello Paul, HNY to you and yours. Only by knowing the rules will we be able to experiment and offer adaptations of them. I never liked the term breaking the rules as that usually leads to chaos and we already have enough of that in the world today.

Michael

[tycooder]

Nice work Paul These 2 are a perfect example of my wifes favorite saying "If you change the way you look at things the things you look at change"

[Mpow]

Both are beautiful, but the second is stunning (and not only because I'm partial to orange!)
I would hang either of them on my wall.

[nickspictures.com]

The second one is just stunning!!! I love that capture.

[JustJim]

Thanks for this reminder, Paul (or is it Pawl, now? ). I agree that we should have a good working knowledge of 'the rules' before we try to bend them. Just like in a courtroom, ignorance is no defence. If you break a rule that you don't know exists, chaos is likely as Michael says (also likely is poor pictures). If you know the rules and understand why they exist then you can bend them and stretch them.

I instinctively use the 'Rule of Thirds' whenever a viewfinder* is at my eye, or even when mentally framing something I see, but I must re-read on the Golden Section/Golden Spiral concept. I know it exists, but I have forgotten how to understand it.

*My Nikon D5000 (and presumably other models) has a menu choice where I can turn on grid-lines in the viewfinder, but they divide the image into a 4 x 4 grid! Why would that be? If they were 3 x 3, I'd have them on all the time. Crazy! I used to have drop in ground glass focussing screens for my Nikon FTN and one of them had a 3 x 3 grid on it.

[leonaashlee]

These are lovely Paul and I appreciate you sharing this with us.

[Preacherman]

Originally Posted by mpascal

Hello Paul, HNY to you and yours. Only by knowing the rules will we be able to experiment and offer adaptations of them. I never liked the term breaking the rules as that usually leads to chaos and we already have enough of that in the world today.

Michael

Thanks for looking Michael. Happy New Year to you too. Looking forward to spending it with you. PAUL

Originally Posted by tycooder

Nice work Paul These 2 are a perfect example of my wifes favorite saying "If you change the way you look at things the things you look at change"

Thanks Brendan. I tell my kids something similar - "If you always do what you always did, You'll always get what you always got". Happy New Year my friend. PAUL

Originally Posted by Mpow

Both are beautiful, but the second is stunning (and not only because I'm partial to orange!)
I would hang either of them on my wall.

Thank you for those kind words Mary Anne. Happy New Year to you. See you next year. PAUL

Originally Posted by nickspictures.com

The second one is just stunning!!! I love that capture.

Glad you like it Nick. Happy New Year. PAUL

Originally Posted by JustJim

Thanks for this reminder, Paul (or is it Pawl, now? ). I agree that we should have a good working knowledge of 'the rules' before we try to bend them. Just like in a courtroom, ignorance is no defence. If you break a rule that you don't know exists, chaos is likely as Michael says (also likely is poor pictures). If you know the rules and understand why they exist then you can bend them and stretch them.

I instinctively use the 'Rule of Thirds' whenever a viewfinder* is at my eye, or even when mentally framing something I see, but I must re-read on the Golden Section/Golden Spiral concept. I know it exists, but I have forgotten how to understand it.

*My Nikon D5000 (and presumably other models) has a menu choice where I can turn on grid-lines in the viewfinder, but they divide the image into a 4 x 4 grid! Why would that be? If they were 3 x 3, I'd have them on all the time. Crazy! I used to have drop in ground glass focussing screens for my Nikon FTN and one of them had a 3 x 3 grid on it.

Thanks for taking a look Jim and the comments. There is so much to learn, but I am having fun doing it. I just want to produce shots that take your breath away. Long way to go yet. Happy New Year (again). PAUL (or Pawl, I don't mind!)

[Hadianto Sumantri]

I try to follow rules because if i break it i will be penalized, event in photography lol, btw love the warm colour..

[dvetter]

Beautiful images Paul, both of them are stunning. I would have to say the rules do work well in some situations. I personally love to shoot flowers and I think your presentation here is helpful to me thanks Paul.