Moving Away From Common Photography Rules

Photography is one field that rewards people for breaking the rules. Are you a visual rebel? Like to push boundaries? Pick up a camera. But before you break the basic rules of photography, you have to learn them. There's a time to follow the rules and a time to throw out the rule book; experience that will help you choose between the two.

The Rule of Thirds

One of the most basic rules of composition calls for the subject to align along the lines that would be used to divide the photo into nine equal pieces. The Rule of Thirds also says strong lines, like the horizon, should be aligned along the same grid markers, depending on where you want the viewer's attention focused.

The times to consider breaking the rule of thirds are times when you have a natural frame that highlights a central subject or strong lines and other picture elements that lead the eye to a strong central point of interest.

It's sometimes a good idea to consider shooting a subject both ways. Some of your shots aligned with the Rule of Thirds and one or two deliberately outside the guidelines. Then you can decide in the comfort of your own work space which composition works better. Every photographer in the business has had the experience of pushing the button and chiding themselves over what they think is a poor shot, only to have that picture stand out for them and the client when looking at the shots later.

Shoot first, pay attention to the rules. Then throw out the composition rule book and shoot some more.

Focus

Learning to control your camera's focus is one of those seemingly obvious skills that will surprisingly separate experienced shooters from novice operators.

The main reason it separates shooters of varying skill levels is because it's difficult to get fine control of focus with your camera's automatic settings engaged. In auto shooting modes, your camera is going to do everything in its internal computer's power to make sure as much of the photo as possible is in focus, whether you like it or not.

To get shots where you're deliberately throwing some elements of a picture out of focus, you'll need to turn off the automatic settings, including autofocus. You'll have to experiment with your camera's Aperture Priority mode, usually abbreviated A or Av on the selector dial. Av mode allows you to select an aperture best suited to control depth of field and let the camera select the shutter mode to match.

Shoot From Behind Subject

Many photographers get forward-focused in their photography. They get in close, and take the majority of their photos to include the subject's face. That is what the textbook says you should do, but don't overlook the potential to get amazing shots by turning the scene around 180 degrees and shooting from behind your subject.

This can be a particularly good choice for any subject that performs in front of an audience. Then you can put the subject in a less prominent part of the photo and make the audience reaction the focus of the shot.

It's always good practice to shoot your front-facing shots, but once you have those, start walking around looking for different angles. Go around to the back, see if you can get up to a higher elevation, look for a different perspective.

It may sometimes seem counter-intuitive, but there are times the best shots are when you're making up your own rule book.

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Photography For The Common Man (Or Woman) - Take Better Pictures Starting Now

People who are not professional photographers have different ideas about their photography gifts and abilities. Many are of the opinion that it's easy to be a photographer, but, on the other side of the coin, there are those who have taken really bad photos and consider themselves bad photographers.

The real truth is that just about anyone can take better pictures. It's really easy to press that shutter button. But there are some steps you can take that will make your images better, even if you are an absolute beginner.

Where To Start Becoming A Better Photographer

These are some of the ideas for beginning photographers to keep in mind, whether your goal is to take pictures of you family, landscapes, sports, close-ups, pets, street journalism, or if you plan to become a pro (you have to start somewhere).

First, get to know your camera. It really does not matter if you have one of the least expensive digital point and shoot cameras or an extremely expensive Digital SLR camera, if you are not familiar with the camera's capabilities and settings, you will be unable to take advantage of that camera's best qualities. Read the manual. Practice getting shots with your camera. You don't need "National Geographic" type settings to practice, your living room, backyard, or a local parking lot will do. Just get familiar with that wonderful image recording device.

Second, familiarize yourself with the most basic photography concepts, such as composition and light. Even a little knowledge about composition and lighting will give you a huge advantage when it comes to taking pictures that have interest.

Third, use your camera at every opportunity. Having the best equipment available will not help if it is sitting at home in the closet. Get used to carrying the camera with you at all times. If you have the resources, you can have more than one camera, a small camera that fits into your pocket and a larger "more professional" camera that you take for your special photo ops. Even a cell phone can produce great images these days if you are aware of its capabilities.

Above all, do some soul searching and convince yourself that you can do this thing called photography. You CAN take better pictures, no matter what your past pictures look like.

Here are a few things that you need to avoid in your thinking:
I am not a good photographer, so why try. This one thought will paralyze your future in photography. Change your thinking now. Even if you have not been happy with your pictures, you can get better.
There is too much to learn about cameras and software. Not true. Yes, there is a boatload of software and camera equipment available, but you are not required to either have it all or learn it all in order to become a good photographer.
It take too much time to become a good photographer. Again, this is not true. Of course, you will get better as time goes on and you become more familiar with how to take photos and use your camera, but if you learn a few basics, it will make a world of difference in your picture quality.

You have a desire to be a better photographer? You can do it.

Photography is becoming more popular by the hour. Folks are discovering how exciting it is to learn about photography techniques and equipment. Not only that, they are now aware that they can take better pictures if they have some basic knowledge and the right frame of mind. PhotographyClassesAtlanta is a great place to start building that knowledge base.

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