Blog Entry #8 - Breaking The Rules

The scene of the lake breaks a normal rule of composition because it is taken at an angle. I think this makes it a much more active scenery picture than if it was taken straight on because it creates a lot of diagonal lines. The perspective that the image gives the viewer is that they are sitting amongst the fallen leaves at the bottom right of the picture in a canoe at dusk, looking across to the furthest point on the other side of the lake, where the two triangles, which are formed by the tree line and its reflection, merge together. The triangle shapes are repeated in the foreground by the fallen branches and their reflections and contrast with the lighter larger triangles formed by the sky and its reflection.

The stairs photograph breaks the “Rule of Thirds” because the subject, which is the stairs, goes right up the centre of the picture. In this case it works well because of the symmetry it creates which has the effect of pulling the viewer into the scene and up the stairs. This effect is helped by the fact that the image is framed by the doorway and the open door which invites the viewer to look up the stairs. There is also interest and texture provided by the climbing plant on the right hand wall at the bottom of the stairs which is echoed by the tree branches higher up the stairs on the left side. 

This portrait doesn’t follow the normal rules of composition that would place the subject further back so that there is some space around them and wouldn’t cut of part of their head. Breaking the rules works in this photo because the subject’s expression shows that he seems to be observing the photographer rather than the other way round and so having the subject leaning in very close to the lens and cropping the top of the head emphasises this idea. The flick on his hair helps to soften the cropping and the merger of his hair with the poster on the wall, which is normally against the rules, helps to give humour to the image.  The perspective of the hallway in the background gives a feeling of depth that helps the close-up work.