A photographic philosophy

One of the things I’ve learned about photography over the years is that many people miss the point of the various rules, such as the rule of thirds. It’s certainly true that the many bits of photographic wisdom like the rule of thirds are useful, but there are no hard stops. Recently I saw this being discussed and put in my $0.02 and after submitting my reply I realized that I had finally worded my philosophy on these matters in the best way I’ve yet to try. Instead of rewriting it under the guise of an article I’ve just copied what I wrote before in to the following quote:

The rules are mainly there to provide guidance and assistance for the starting photographer to have a set of concrete ideas to grab on to and help them take images that may be more universally pleasing. The rule of thirds, level horizons, various compositional tools and exposure guidelines all provide that for people who might not otherwise really know what basic set of parameters to work within.

When someone has enough confidence in their abilities and ideas that they want to start bending or breaking the rules, then things can certainly start to get interesting. Not everyone will agree that following the rules will make a good shot in all cases, and not everyone will agree (probably fewer people) with the choices made in a shot that breaks the rules.

I often throw caution to the wind for a lot of what I shoot, mostly because I don’t find the “rules” work in many of my shots, I am often capturing geometric shapes and patterns which are enhanced by deliberate or forced symmetry, or large amounts of negative space, etc. I do enjoy how it makes some of the rule-obsessed stalwarts squirm as well.

For many types of photographs though the rules can indeed be thought of less as rules and more of as common trends found in many popular and well regarded photographs so they are good attributes for a photographer to try to emulate.

I think that explains my thoughts on the many rules, guides and early teachings of photography in the simplest manner possible. If you find you feel like you’ve paid your dues and are getting tired of being boxed in by all those rules, try breaking some of them. You might like it. If you disagree with me feel free to say so, just don’t expect me to agree!