Photography rules, there is 1 that I keep breaking.

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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I just shot a wedding on Saturday and processed a handful of shots that stuck in my head and I notice 1 thing, I keep shooting into the light source. I remember years ago when I started, people say you shouldn't because you end up under exposed.

I think they should scrap this rule, I think people should shoot into the light more, you get much nicer photos! All these are natural light, no flash.

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What other photography rules are you constantly breaking?
 
I am not aware of any rules of photography. If anyone tells you of a 'rule', make sure you break it as often as possible.

In my youth, my father was very clear that the sun should always be behind the photographer, but this was because lenses before 1950ish were not coated and were very likely suffer from flare. Modern lenses are always coated and if you have a lens hood, you will rarely be troubled with flare - and sometimes flare is artistically desirable.
 
A trick of the old film wedding photographers, set most of your shots up to shoot into the sun, use fill flash and most of the amateurs would get crap results when they stood at your side to take the same picture.:D my wife used it a lot at her weddings.
 
mikew said:
A trick of the old film wedding photographers, set most of your shots up to shoot into the sun, use fill flash and most of the amateurs would get crap results when they stood at your side to take the same picture.:D my wife used it a lot at her weddings.
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Absolutely , that was my usual practice.
Also with the light behind them they do not squint and screw up their faxes. 3/ 4 light behind is rather better than full back light as it gives more modeling.
 
mikew said:
A trick of the old film wedding photographers, set most of your shots up to shoot into the sun, use fill flash and most of the amateurs would get crap results when they stood at your side to take the same picture.:D my wife used it a lot at her weddings.
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Terrywoodenpic said:
Absolutely , that was my usual practice.
Also with the light behind them they do not squint and screw up their faxes. 3/ 4 light behind is rather better than full back light as it gives more modeling.
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I do it so they are not squinting, not to stop others take photos. In fact, I kinda like to let them take some. I step back and take a photo of them taking the shots.

Never used flash in that situation though.
 
As usual Raymond, Cracking shots. The rule I break is not getting out often enough. I can go weeks even months without shooting. Then I have to re-learn again.......
 
Raymond Lin said:
I do it so they are not squinting, not to stop others take photos. In fact, I kinda like to let them take some. I step back and take a photo of them taking the shots.

Never used flash in that situation though.
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Back in the day, using Rolleiflexes with bladed shutters, fill flash was the norm. Today you need highspeed flash setting to sinc at all speeds. But you lose a lot of power, but still enough for fill. Flash is still the norm for press photography.
 
we no need no stinking rules

If you know what your doing then shooting into the light is great.. I use it when shooting team pics at events.. all the parents get are a black blob and i get the selling shot... I even hear poeple behind me saying "everyone knows you photogrpah with the sun behind you"

i also reccomend shooting into the sun for cricket photogrpahy on a bright sunny early day..gets best results
 
I think the rule you are speaking about it something you teach early on to help improve exposures for starters. Later on you develop your own style/ feel with different things. Nice photos by the way.

The trick is shooting into the light and not doing any editing and still getting good photos :p

Another rule that can be broken is the rule about keeping your horizon straight. Although this is important, it is not a universal constant when it comes to photography. When German/ Dutch angles are done well it looks fantastic. Obviously there are times when it is important to keep your horizons straight, but I think it is important not to cement yourself in this rule. It suits certain genres a lot more than others though.
 
Great shots Raymond, but... It's not a rule of photography.

I do object when people who really ought to know better, talk about rules that aren't rules because it creates confusion that becomes 'unhelpful'.

The 'rules' aren't real rules anyway, they're guidelines, the following of which improves photography.

Sorry but it's a niggle, I've seen other posts about ignoring rules where it's easy to look at the image and point out all the rules.
 
The great thing about the rules is that there are so many that every photograph will break some and follow others :D

I never worry about thirds, have been shooting into the light (we even used to have a name for it - contra jour) since the 1960s, don't look out for leading lines explicitly and have never won a competition, so I must be doing something right ;)
 
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Phil V said:
Great shots Raymond, but... It's not a rule of photography.

I do object when people who really ought to know better, talk about rules that aren't rules because it creates confusion that becomes 'unhelpful'.

The 'rules' aren't real rules anyway, they're guidelines, the following of which improves photography.

Sorry but it's a niggle, I've seen other posts about ignoring rules where it's easy to look at the image and point out all the rules.
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It's just "banter". I know there are no rules.

I wouldn't even call them guidelines, or rule of thumb or "advice", they are more like misconception.

How's that?
 
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john.margetts said:
I am not aware of any rules of photography. If anyone tells you of a 'rule', make sure you break it as often as possible..
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Inverse square rule?

But I do get what you mean. I see most of them more as guidelines then actual rules
 
Raymond Lin said:
It's just "banter". I know there are no rules.

I wouldn't even call them guidelines, or rule of thumb or "advice", they are more like misconception.

How's that?
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Nope - I'm with @Phil V in that they are Guidelines and are a great help to many starting out in photography

Re your opening shot though, it's broken a 'rule' of mine to not do silhouettes with heads touching as it creates more of a blob than a lovely shape :D Noses just slightly bends that rule but had your 3rd been a silhouette too that'd have been a blob lol

And I shoot Groups towards the Sun for the same reason as you and I don't use fill flash either, but like you I don't do it to screw up Guests' photos - they do that all by themselves

Dave
 
DG Phototraining said:
That's advisable, but its not 'first'

Cue discussion on 'seeing' before shooting lol

Dave
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As a street photographer taking the lens cap is the first thing I do (aside from pull camera out of bag). I walk around without the lens cap on for majority of the day. The seeing part comes in much later. Even settings are preset and ready to be adjusted quickly.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I just shot a wedding on Saturday and processed a handful of shots that stuck in my head and I notice 1 thing, I keep shooting into the light source. I remember years ago when I started, people say you shouldn't because you end up under exposed.

I think they should scrap this rule, I think people should shoot into the light more, you get much nicer photos!

What other photography rules are you constantly breaking?
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I watched a vid from a famous on line blogger bloke and in it he talked about blown skies and how he wouldn't take the shot and it made me think and like you I would :D I agree with the comment about squinting too.

I don't really follow rules myself but I'm a happy amateur so I don't have to please anyone but myself :D Maybe including flare is one of my things, I know other people wouldn't take the shot but I do it deliberately.
 
Amazeballs images Raymond :)

You can do as you like turning stuff out like this !


Gaz
 
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