THERE ARE NO RULES #5

OK, here’s the last in my arbitrary list of 5 traditional photographic rules meant to broken on the 21st day of the 12th month of the 21st year of the 21st century:

“Don’t Place The Horizon In The Middle Of The Frame”.

Another version of this is, “Never put your subject in the middle of the frame”. That’s another compositional rule to break, unless you’re shooting for a full-bleed double page spread!

Rules about composition don’t always work for every subject. Using the rule of thirds is often recommended. It’s nice, but it’s usually just the beginning, not the final destination.

Each photographer has their own compositional key within them. Your vision has a balance within the camera’s frame that only you know is right. It usually take about 5 years of regular shooting to find this for yourself.

It takes continual and consistent practice to become a really good photographer. Having a mentor and a great designer to work with your stuff is a gift at any time during your career, but especially early on. The main thing is to keep having fun!

Here are some more examples of my automotive compositions used on the web and in print: