Breaking The Rules Of Photography — Before You Break The Rules

                  Sunset in Scottsdale Arizona by Cincinnati, Ohio Photographer Vincent Rush

I was having a casual conversation with a renowned photographer. And he proudly said that it was all about breaking the rules – he never follows any rules. He said he does that because if he followed the rules he would never have grown beyond those rules.

Though breaking the rules is creative, lately I’m getting the feeling as if it’s becoming a fashion statement – such statements seem to be lacking depth and knowledge and irresponsible. I have a more conservative approach to “breaking the rule” rule. It is this attitude that prepares you for a long haul at photography. So go ahead and break those rules; but here’s a checklist before you set out to break them.

1. Know the rules

   You can’t break something you don’t know about. You need to understand what the rule is, why is it practiced and what is the barrier it poses to your creativity. Certainly there must be a drawback else why would you bother to invest time in breaking the rule.

2. Perfect the rules

   Understanding the rule is not good enough. You should be perfect at following them. If you are not, you are already neglecting them. That’s breaking the rules in a sense – but it also implies what level of control you have on your art and equipment. Practice till you set some of the best examples for yourself. You will realize, at some level the rule gets in the way of your creativity and results. Now you know you can explore further.

3. Don’t reinvent the wheel

   Most of the times people just end up reinventing the wheel. I asked this photographer “Do you make use of the rule of thirds?” He answered that he never followed any rules. The rule of thirds is a rule of composition that helps you frame shots which are aesthetically more pleasing. This and similar rules are tested by specialists and through big surveys. When you make such a statement saying that you don’t follow the rule of thirds, you are saying you don’t invest efforts in making your composition more aesthetically pleasing. You may make some great compositions and then you may make some other – but in this context they are more of exceptions than rules. At the end of the day after shooting a few hundred shots you realize all the best shots follow some or the other rule of composition.

4. Work to get better results

   Breaking the rules is a great idea provided you get better results than you’d have got following the rules. What’s the point in breaking the rules when you end up with something which doesn’t make sense? Get better results – that’s the way creativity is rewarded.

5. Experiment

   Breaking the rules doesn’t work by itself. You have to spend hours experimenting with light, composition and several other parameters, get creative, visualize and try again. Explore your talent and get creative. Getting creative is the way to breaking the rules. It is when rules get in the way of your visualization and creativity that you have to chose not to follow them. Creativity is what makes a photograph stand out of the thousands. Creativity gives you the edge and you realize the individuality of the photographer within. The more you experiment, the more you get experienced and the better your work becomes.

So go ahead and break the rules. But tick off this list first.


Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!