Composition Rules...really?

[removed account4]

its the internet .. people have alter egos, play make believe, role play &c
sometimes they even regurgitate what someone else says and claim it as their own

 

[blansky]

its the internet .. people have alter egos, play make believe, role play &c
sometimes they even regurgitate what someone else says and claim it as their own

But still it all has to be true...........right?

 

[pdeeh]

"put up or shut up" , "an obligation to prove" don't have significance in these sorts of discussions though.

If someone has a belief about the status of "rules" in photography (for instance, that there are none) insisting upon the sort of saloon-bar empiricism implied by those phrases is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Woofwoof

 

[Sirius Glass]

Of course and those that cannot do demand pixs.

 

[removed account4]

But still it all has to be true...........right?

its always true !

 

[blansky]

its always true !

Wheew....I thought for a minute you were inferring that stuff on the internet wasn't true.

Scared the hell out of me.

 

[removed account4]

Of course and those that cannot do demand pixs.

not really
===

chocolate tea pots sound perfect, kind of like an art installation on composition
and depending on the heat of the tea the dynamic image created by the melted bits
has a different composition

 

[pdeeh]

Sorry john no time to reply, I'm too busy sniffing a Labradoodle's arse

 

[removed account4]

Sorry john no time to reply, I'm too busy sniffing a Labradoodle's arse

at least it wasn't a boxer shih tzu mix !

 

[RobC]

As a jazz fan, I think that you need to know the tune before you can improvise around it. And improvising is so much more fun

doees that mean jazz is never composed as jazz from scratch. i.e. it is always bending something else.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Of course and those that cannot do demand pixs.

not really
===

chocolate tea pots sound perfect, kind of like an art installation on composition
and depending on the heat of the tea the dynamic image created by the melted bits
has a different composition

Get over yourself.

There are many sources of photographs and painting composition. Posting photographs in general shows ability and style. Style is style. For example a composition rule of thumb is to place the subject in focus and the rest out of focus. A firm believer in that rule would not like the style of O. Winston Link.

http://www.linkmuseum.org/
http://www.greatmodernpictures.com/plink.htm
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/when-steam-locomotion-ground-to-a-halt/​

One does not need to fill up the APUG Gallery every day to be a good photographer.

 

[MattKing]

It would actually add to the discussion if some of the points in this thread were illustrated with photographic examples.

But one doesn't need to use one's own photographs to do that.

As an example:

Any rules broken/adhered to here?

 

[benjiboy]

It would actually add to the discussion if some of the points in this thread were illustrated with photographic examples.

But one doesn't need to use one's own photographs to do that.

As an example:

Any rules broken/adhered to here?

This is by Phillipe Halsman one of my idols, and to me demonstrates the rule of thirds in it's most difficult to achieve incarnations, in motion.

 

[removed account4]

Get over yourself.

One does not need to fill up the APUG Gallery every day to be a good photographer.

LOL
:munch:

it has nothing to do with filling the apug gallery with images,
did anyone suggest that ?

( thanks matt you beat me to it )

it also has to do with the internet, breeding experts in subjects they have no clue.
i have never claimed to be an expert in anything, actually the opposite
the more i do anything having to do with photography, the more i realize i am a novice
and have huge respect for others from IDK 100+ years ago who somehow were able to
use primitive materials &c and get such great imagery.

 

[RobC]

thowing cats and soaking them mid air 28 times looks like animal cruelty to me

and nothing is really on a third. But I have no idea if that image is a crop from the original photograph or not so couldn't say it was supposed to be an example of using thirds.

Seems pretty meaningless to use the rule of thirds as a compositional guide if it isn't really done to the rule of thirds. i.e. only an approximation which makes the rule of thirds a nonsense in this case from what I can see.

 

[MattKing]

This is by Phillipe Halsman one of my idols, and to me demonstrates the rule of thirds in it's most difficult to achieve incarnations, in motion.

While it breaks the rule not to have people only partly in the frame at the edge (note the arm at the left edge).

 

[cliveh]

How about this by HCB -

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=h...BJxRFHf5M:&usg=__lS2kwfiH4t_KfSH6gAQOgetKvqw=

 

[RobC]

It illustrates a few design rules, and breaks a few, but less obvious is the characteristic curve hidden in the water.

 

[MattKing]

It illustrates a few design rules, and breaks a few, but less obvious is the characteristic curve hidden in the water.

This brings rise to a smile for me as well.

But it also highlights one of the realities behind some of the composition rules.

The characteristic curve is quite "natural", in that it is similar in shape to a number of naturally occurring results from the interplay of every day circumstances (see the water above). Many of the rules of composition favour such naturally occurring relationships.

 

[coigach]

It's a tongue-in-cheek comment, and jazz is a varied church.

The bare bone of the melody and how the notes relate to each other - improvisation is the fun around this, whether it's playing with the harmonies, the tones, chord changes, space, rhythm, whatever. Much jazz has a 'straight' tune or theme that is improvised around.

It's an imprecise analogy, but I think it holds for photographic composition too. You need to know the 'rules' before looking at ways to improvise around them. I'm still practising, and my own photographic improvisations often sound like a pet shop going on fire....

 

[RobC]

This brings rise to a smile for me as well.

But it also highlights one of the realities behind some of the composition rules.

The characteristic curve is quite "natural", in that it is similar in shape to a number of naturally occurring results from the interplay of every day circumstances (see the water above). Many of the rules of composition favour such naturally occurring relationships.

but what about flare and does it fit the zone system

 

[benjiboy]

While it breaks the rule not to have people only partly in the frame at the edge (note the arm at the left edge).

I suggest youlook at Edgar Degas paintings https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?img...n58M&itg=1&usg=__kaqeEAzXRair4-Ql9f2bl2le97Y=

 

[Sirius Glass]

It would actually add to the discussion if some of the points in this thread were illustrated with photographic examples.

But one doesn't need to use one's own photographs to do that.

As an example:

Any rules broken/adhered to here?

If this had been posted by someone else I would have though "Oh, another Fauto$hopper showing off what a great computer he has." and would not have believed it. Did the SPCA or PITA [People Eating Tasty Animals] have anything to say about this. Of course learning how this was done would be interesting if it is real.

 

[Carriage]

It's in the magnum contact sheets book. From memory it was done on 4 by 5 and they kept trying and developing a sheet at a time.

You can see that some of the heavier objects are suspended on strings/wires

 

[RobC]

see http://www.shootingfilm.net/2013/04/how-famous-dali-atomicus-photo-was-taken.html