Mike Johnston <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>That site makes me want to go spend an hour at a Mark Rothko exhibit. <s>
Hey, I agree on that web site. I just used it as an example of a list of
rules. (And note that some of the "rules" are contradictory, which is part
of my point.) If all you do is follow rules and guidelines like what's on
that web site, you'll turn out crap.
I think a large part of the problem a lot of people have with and
compositional rules is the word "rule", which is usually interpreted as
"law" or "edict". It can also mean "measurement", which I believe is a much
better interpretation when used in "rule of thirds", for example.
A one-time friend of mine was a jazz pianist of moderate talent. Once,
shortly after a really successful gig, which he recorded, he got a chance to
see a jazz pianist idol of his at a local club. He brought the tape of his
own gig and gave it to his idol after the show. He came back the next night
and found that his hero *had* actually listened to the tape (a surprise in
itself). What his hero said was: Kid, I know why you gave me this tape. You
were really hot that night. You were definitely *on*. Now go home and
practice your scales and apreggios, because what makes a successful musician
isn't how well he plays when he's having a *good* night, but how well he
plays when he's having a *bad* night. And it's the boring basics that get
you through the bad nights without making a total fool of yourself.
I never consciously think about composition when I'm having a *good* photo
shoot. It's when I'm stuck and can't find a way to make any photo work that
that stuff sometimes helps.
"Rules" of composition, aren't traffic lights that tell me what I can and
can't do. But when I'm "lost" they can be signs that point out roads and
avenues that I hadn't thought of. Some of them lead, no doubt, to cliches I
don't want to visit ("Disneyland, next exit"), but some might lead to
interesting places I would never have experienced otherwise.
In short, they're like that zoom lens I keep in my camera bag that I don't
plan on using: If I'm "on" that day - like my pianist friend - I'll never
need it, but if I'm not it's useful to have it there to fall back on. The
"rules" weigh less and take up less space than the zoom, and, like the extra
lens, don't have to be used when I don't want or need to. But I won't even
have the option if I don't know they're there.
--
Mark Roberts
Photography and writing
www.robertstech.com
