My attention was caught by the shadow of a dining room chair cast on the floor this morning so I thought I would use them as my subject for the Photography Book Club. I went back to "breaking the rules" and once again composed a shot using a 50/50 balance as opposed to the rule of thirds. I like the way this came out and I also deliberately took the shot so that the heavier portion was on the top- something that I naturally avoid in my compositions. But this too, proved to be an interesting twist on the art of photography and I liked the result!
I ordered the Freeman book today so I'm looking forward to being more intentional with the assignments when it arrives.
Well done Ann! I think you've created an interesting abstract and despite breaking the rule of thirds, it's incredibly balanced in the way the dark loop balances the dark upper half.
interesting, indeed! i never paid attention to the rule of thirds before now but i think it all boils down to one thing: eye of the beholder. i like how this came out as an abstract, but then again you are one of those people who do well with abstracting.
Thanks for sharing your thought process and application of the lesson. Makes the image that much more interesting. Well done, again! I just got the Freeman book. I look forward to catching up with you and the others who have already launched into the assignments.
Nice shot, Ann! I love shadow shots. I've done some myself. I still don't think the rule of thirds should apply to everything anyway. This is a perfect example. Great texture and lighting. And the shadow is perfect. Well done.
Thank you Vikki, Lisa, Brian, Timothy, Alia, Dione, Rick, Maggie, Howard, Dixie and Bev!
I just got the email that my book is on the way, so I'm really looking forward to actually having it in my hands! To all those who commented on the "Rule". The old saying, "Rules are made to be broken" certainly does apply to one's artistic interpretation of a subject. Although basically following this rule insures you'll have a powerful picture if it's combined with the right subject matter and execution, there is always the one shot that looks better by breaking the rule. I think Freeman is trying to encourage photographers to think like that and to develop a sensitivity to knowing when it's a good time to break out of the rule. I'm not 100% sold on this shot, but it has a certain appeal to it- like Dixie said, it could be the cover of a mystery novel. I think what I liked about it was that it did break the rule and that the tension of the darker spot on top makes you want to flip it around. So there's a little bit more about the book club exercise for today!
@archaeofrog Thanks Katie! I'm looking forward to it too. When I see some of the others mentioning the exercises that they are doing, it sounds really fun.
@olivetreeann Hey Ann, I'm putting together a post for my blog about the first week of the Book Club, and I was wondering whether you'd let me include this image and quote some of your description of the process. (I'll link back to here too.) Thanks!
@kerristephens Thank you Kerri!
Thank you Vikki, Lisa, Brian, Timothy, Alia, Dione, Rick, Maggie, Howard, Dixie and Bev!
I just got the email that my book is on the way, so I'm really looking forward to actually having it in my hands! To all those who commented on the "Rule". The old saying, "Rules are made to be broken" certainly does apply to one's artistic interpretation of a subject. Although basically following this rule insures you'll have a powerful picture if it's combined with the right subject matter and execution, there is always the one shot that looks better by breaking the rule. I think Freeman is trying to encourage photographers to think like that and to develop a sensitivity to knowing when it's a good time to break out of the rule. I'm not 100% sold on this shot, but it has a certain appeal to it- like Dixie said, it could be the cover of a mystery novel. I think what I liked about it was that it did break the rule and that the tension of the darker spot on top makes you want to flip it around. So there's a little bit more about the book club exercise for today!