If you created a Rule of Composition.....

[acparsons58 5]

I've been researching new Rules of Composition to teach to my students. If you created a Rule of Composition, what would it be? Please provide a photo and an explanation. We will vote on the best rule.

 

[480sparky38 37]

All Rules are meant to be broken.

 

[Derrel]

Is this like a new rule of thermodynamics or a new rule in mathematics? I would wager to say that there is no such thing as a rule of composition; composition is actually done by utilizing the elements and principles of design. I do not think it is possible to come up with a new rule of composition, unless you are talking about some sort of Fstoppers or Clickin' Moms type of lame hack. I would encourage you to teach your students about the elements and principles of design, which are the true foundation of the visual arts.

 

[Derrel]

There are no new "rules" to be invented. There are many strategies for making photos, but composition is a fairly complex interplay of the elements and the principles of design.

 

[Designer]

I agree with Derrel, but if I had to make up a "new rule", it would be; Make sure the viewers know what is your subject.

 

[acparsons58 5]

Is this like a new rule of thermodynamics or a new rule in mathematics? I would wager to say that there is no such thing as a rule of composition; composition is actually done by utilizing the elements and principles of design. I do not think it is possible to come up with a new rule of composition, unless you are talking about some sort of Fstoppers or Clickin' Moms type of lame hack. I would encourage you to teach your students about the elements and principles of design, which are the true foundation of the visual arts.

Well said. Upon a brief search for the principles of design, I found that they are pretty much the same as the first 10 "Rules of Composition." I've always wondered how people made new rules.

 

[The_Traveler]

My rules.

1).

Make sure the viewers know what is your subject.

2) Put important things in important places
3) Minimize parts within the frame that detract from the impact of the image.
4) Emphasize parts within the frame that increase the impact of the image.

 

[Soocom1]

This is actually a subject I have had with folks in the past, but mostly because of the LACK of education.

As Derrel states, there really is no longer any "rules" (at least at this point in history) to make for the system we have.

When new forms of physics are discovered, that may change.

Now bear with me here. As someone who has read Marcus Vitruvius Pollio's Ten books of Architecture, watch the "Ways of seeing (1970's), and a host of other books, videos, etc, read books on ancient prose, poetry and a host of other arenas of geekdom, (Sun Tzu Art of War, the modern "wooden Book" series on Design, the Trivium, Quadrivium, Science, the Reg Veda, The Wheel of the Law, etc, ) teaches the fundamental aspects of day to day life and the interconnections of concepts becomes clear, the real context I think should be on the foundations of basic art theory.

Then show the mechanical aspects of photography, especially the relationship of the lens to image plane, and how moving and manipulating that will enhance the images and/or change the overall effect.

Look at the rules on light behavior and the effect of shadows. But all of this has been studied to death for literally 5000 years. The one arena that IMO is the most important is to teach how to look for the unusual in the usual.

 

[The_Traveler]

When there are references to the “Rules of Art” usually the person speaking is, unconsciously, conflating three separate layers of ‘Rules’.

The topmost layer, the ‘boundary’, is the rules that society places on art that is generally considered acceptable to display in public. For example, in broad society, depictions of grisly war scenes, human genitalia, humans copulation, eating feces – all are commonly considered out of bounds in the open society yet may be perfectly acceptable within the world of art.

The next layer is composed of the rules that the art world places on what and how art is made – what is good, what is bad, what should not be done, etc. This is layer of ‘rules’ that are disappearing.

The bottom-most layer of rules is not defined by person’s agency but is an understanding of how human beings generally see, understand and respond to what they see. In order to allow the viewers to see and understand what the art, in our case photographs, we need to know how people see, understand and respond. These rules are a guide for students to understand, not how society or the art world judges their work, but what enables the viewer to see, understand and respond.

This layer of rules is composed thusly:

1) The photographer must know what he or she is taking a picture of
2) Important things should go in important places
3) Elements within the frame that detract from the impact of the image should be minimized
4) Elements within the frame that increase the impact of the image should be emphasized.

All the rest of the supposed "rules' (level horizon, leading lines, rule of thirds, etc) are merely the tools of the craftsman to make this layer work.

 

[Original katomi]

Given that I throw out the rule book most of the time
I would offer the advice
Don’t be afraid to try out ideas. Digital means that you can play

The above image was the result of trial and error
Read my tag line that says it all

 

[webestang6410]

I have not a single "rule" for composition. If I like what I see in the finder then I take the photo.

Side note:
Back in collage my instructor "taught" us composition by giving us an assignment where we had to pick an object and photograph it with 3 rolls of film or 108 exps. All 108 shots had to have that object in the photo and every shot had to have a different "composition".

 

[vStiles]

I always look at composition like any other art ; everyone has their own eye. But I've always believed it's not something like a physical skill that can be taught.... more like something you kind of have to have already?

For instance. I have a friend who plays guitar, as do I. Been at it almost 30 years, him around 20+. However... 20+ years in, he still sounds and plays like someone in their first year. He just doesn't have that music part in him.

I feel it's the same for the camera. You can totally understand the aperture / shutter / ISO relationship, and perfectly execute it with each image. But.. if your compositions are on the meh side...
Having that in you for composition, imho, makes the capture media irrelevant. By that I mean : if you have it, you take really nice pics with your cell phone, or a point and shoot, no matter what.

Like.. I'll bet Lee Frost could take a winner on a 1995 Razor cell phone lol

 

[Original katomi]

Re post 12
I often know what I want to do/achieve but don’t always have the technical know how.
So I would guess that I fall into the artist side of the equation
When you teach do you tell your students about the Marmite effect
As in you can love or hate a photo
I will often shoot Marmite photos!

 

[Derrel]

One guideline I think you should work on is the choice of orientation, horizontal or vertical. In this era of the cell phone the new Norm is vertical video. And I think that vertical photos typically look the best on cell phones, since they are displayed larger in the normal use of the phone. But for still photos I see many people shooting horizontal portraits and cropping people off at the collar bones, Or on close-ups,creating basically floating heads with very little means of support shown in the photo. This is one of the biggest areas that beginners have very little awareness of.

The basic idea is that if the subject is taller than it is wide you should orient the camera in a "portrait" direction or a vertical orientation. If the subject is wider than it is tall, then horizontal is the natural camera orientation that one should use. As far as I am concerned,this is one of the most-basic fundamentals that many beginners do not understand.

 

[acparsons58 5]

Very good input. It's very difficult to give objective grades for creative work.