Break Some Rules 01

Perhaps you have heard of certain rules in photography, such as "never place the subject in the center of the frame," or "always shoot with the sun at your back." There are others and we will play with some of them in later posts. These adages of course are not rules, but merely guidelines that will aid in getting good photographs a high percentage of the time. Don't be trapped by them. Step out of the box. Most of us have learned that we want sharp, in-focus pictures. Certainly this is true if you want to photograph you kid's birthday, or relatives and pets—that sort of photo. Experiment with some UNSHARP photos. Shoot in lowlight and try to keep the camera still but let the subject move. Shoot in lowlight and move the camera toward your subject as smoothly as possible.

Another technique, one that is quite likely to yield a good photograph, is to follow your subject as it moves left to right, or right to left across the frame. Above is a photograph I took during one of the free concerts at the shell in Overton Park here in Memphis. Again, a low light situation is going to yield the most noticeable results because the camera must select a slow shutter speed. I'll expound on what I just said in the next post.