Top 3 basic rules?

benners

benners

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i appreciate there's sooo much more to photography than 3 things, but here's the deal... i'm 'tutoring' a friend's lad through his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award and photography is one of his skills.

I was thinking of getting him to take 3 pictures... a land/seascape, a potrait and a lowlight shot... then I'd give him 3 photography rules to learn about, then get him to re-visit those 3 pictures with this new knowledge.

so hopefully then he'll have 3 before/after images to show his progression and improvement. so my question to the good people of TP is: which 3 'rules' should I teach him.

the obvious one is the rule of thirds... but which 2 other 'things' could I teach... having a bit of a blank! :thinking:
 
The relation between f-stop,ISO and shutter speed and how all this influences depth of field,sharpness and noise.
 
JackMcIntyre said:
Exposure and depth of field?
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ah yes... what I should add is that i think he only has a compact, rather than a DSLR, so DoF mightn't be as easy to change... I don't actually know what camera he has yet (would be kinda helpful!)...
 
I'd be reluctant to bog someone down with rule of thirds. I find it really inhibitive. I'd certainly go with depth of field, also something about exposure, say exposure compensation. Maybe something on light too, for example the difference between diffused and direct light, that could apply well to any portrait work. Say for example the difference between shooting a portrait with direct sunlight, in the shade, with window light etc...
 
The Matt said:
I'd be reluctant to bog someone down with rule of thirds. I find it really inhibitive. I'd certainly go with depth of field, also something about exposure, say exposure compensation. Maybe something on light too, for example the difference between diffused and direct light, that could apply well to any portrait work. Say for example the difference between shooting a portrait with direct sunlight, in the shade, with window light etc...
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good ideas, thanks The Matt :)

i think i'll still go with the rule of thirds, as it's a good starting point, and something 'easy' to teach and put into practice.

I know as we get more competent, it's a rule we can artistically disregard, but is a good starting point :)
 
1 - Learn all the 'rules'
2 - Learn to see the picture before you take it
3 - break the rules to get the picture you saw before you took it
 
benners said:
ah yes... what I should add is that i think he only has a compact, rather than a DSLR, so DoF mightn't be as easy to change... I don't actually know what camera he has yet (would be kinda helpful!)...
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You can get DOF effects on a compact providing it has a decent zoom and closeup focus ability. Basically you want to zoom in, and focus on something close, and your background will be a little blurred. Obviously it'll be nothing like a 50mm f/1.4 on full frame but it is doable.

I did this on an ancient old knackered point and shoot camera with only two focus options: macro or infinity - there's nothing inbetween, the sensor is bust, white balance is all wrong etc etc etc.

Files.jpg


It's not a perfect photo by any means but it just goes to show that with some creativity you can still produce half decent shots on a compact.
 
Well I don't know if it's a rule but:- Pick your subject and only add in periphery if it helps your subject...e.g. we have all seen a WA shot of a person, a dot amongst others...better to home in and cut the others out (if it doesn't help your shot).
 
3 basic rules of photography

1) a camera REALLY comes in handy.
2) Take Pictures, lots of pictures
3) Enjoy Yourself.

anything else is a load of flowery wonk :)
 
TheBigYin said:
3 basic rules of photography

1) a camera REALLY comes in handy.
2) Take Pictures, lots of pictures
3) Enjoy Yourself.

anything else is a load of flowery wonk :)
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Couldn't agree more!
 
1) The rule of thirds (I Know loads of people hate it but it really is a simple way to massively improve a persons holiday snaps in seconds)
2) When you think your close enough, get closer (We all know as a basic it works)
3) Change the angle (Don't just shoot from a standing position, kneel down, lie down climb a wall etc etc)

For me those are three simple rules that can be easily explained and demonstrated and will improve someones basic photography. It's easy to say compostion, lighting and exposure but those are not three basic rules that is a lifetimes project. I know some of you dislike the 'rules' of photography and I agree like any rules they are there to be broken but the results are generally more impressive when you've decided to break them for a reason and they can really help beginers see things differently.
 
I/ Read the cameras operating manual
2/ Read the cameras operating manual again
3/ Read the cameras operating manual again & again
 
Make best use of available light (be it 'golden hour', natural sunlight, shadow detail or whatever).
Rule of thirds. Agree not one to use religiously but gets the old grey matter working and can make you think about the shot rather than just snapping away.
Make best use of your pixels, a wider view can be cropped for composition, a confined view can't.
 
wow thanks for all the ideas guys, i've been away from the computer for a day or so, so sorry for not replying!

i appreciate there's loads to learn about photography, i'm still learning myself!

but the idea of this 'project' is to give the lad 3 very simple things he can consider when taking a photo. i'm not teaching him in-depth stuff, really just passing on some basic ideas he can implement to start to improve his pics.

so i thought get him to take 3 photos of different things... then give him some things to consider/apply, such as rule of 3rds... then retake those photos with this new knowledge to see how his images can be improved.

really really basic stuff :)
 
I'd go for light, composition and gesture. They are the three main elements that make up a photograph rather than 'rules' such as the rule of thirds. It's when you have a photograph with good light, composition and gesture that a photograph becomes something special.
 
For one of the pics you could try this: (?)

Go get him to take a piccy of the fountain outside Charlie Mannings, then for his 2nd pic of it, if camera allows, get him to place the camera on a tripod and slow down the shutter speed.
 
For light a simple example could be for him to take a snap of someone on the beach, and for a 2nd pic to re-take it, this time using a reflector (even a piece of white card) to see how this can lift shadows.

Hope this is the basic stuff you're looking for without getting too complicated?
 
a1ex2001 said:
1) The rule of thirds (I Know loads of people hate it but it really is a simple way to massively improve a persons holiday snaps in seconds)
2) When you think your close enough, get closer (We all know as a basic it works)
3) Change the angle (Don't just shoot from a standing position, kneel down, lie down climb a wall etc etc)

For me those are three simple rules that can be easily explained and demonstrated and will improve someones basic photography. It's easy to say compostion, lighting and exposure but those are not three basic rules that is a lifetimes project. I know some of you dislike the 'rules' of photography and I agree like any rules they are there to be broken but the results are generally more impressive when you've decided to break them for a reason and they can really help beginers see things differently.
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For someone who wants basic techniques/rules I think Alex has pretty well nailed it, IMHO!
 
Have you looked at THIS? The Ideas/Aims section seems to be appropriate to your question and covers most of the suggestions in this thread.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Really how can you call those three basic rules?

To learn Light subject and composition if a lifetimes work not a simple first step for a beginer.
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Quite easily, for a beginner and bearing in mind i've taught this, anything "rule" based is instantly open to interpretation especially in photography and the "rules" i'd refer to as "guides" instead

IMHO there is little to no point teaching anyone in photography anything unless they understand the importance of light and how it'll affect a shot, how to compose a photo in various situations or at least to look at the entire scene as a composition rather than the focal subject and finally that the subject should be relevant or tie in.

To diversify slightly I've taught that to create an excellent photo in a similar rule based system like the fire triangle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_triangle you'd need all three however a good photo would normally come from two i reckon

Additionally if i was allowed a fourth i'd go with gary's post processing

So, how can you call your choices three basic rules? If i'm justifying myself to you, you might as well do it for me :)

At the end of the day most people have different learning styles and fixed rules aren't always the best starting point
 
alexkidd said:
Quite easily, for a beginner and bearing in mind i've taught this, anything "rule" based is instantly open to interpretation especially in photography and the "rules" i'd refer to as "guides" instead

IMHO there is little to no point teaching anyone in photography anything unless they understand the importance of light and how it'll affect a shot, how to compose a photo in various situations or at least to look at the entire scene as a composition rather than the focal subject and finally that the subject should be relevant or tie in.

To diversify slightly I've taught that to create an excellent photo in a similar rule based system like the fire triangle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_triangle you'd need all three however a good photo would normally come from two i reckon

Additionally if i was allowed a fourth i'd go with gary's post processing

So, how can you call your choices three basic rules? If i'm justifying myself to you, you might as well do it for me :)

At the end of the day most people have different learning styles and fixed rules aren't always the best starting point
Click to expand...

I would never advocate fixed rules or telling someone that they must never break the rule of thirds or that all central compositions don't work etc etc, but things like this are great starting points to get people thinking about composition. It is a benefit even if it just makes someone pause and think for a couple of moments when they put the camera to there eye.

For me what you listed were three big areas with months if not years of teaching in each, certainly not something you can teach some one in quickly. My take would be that the basic 'rules' combine together to form those areas.

I aimed for 3 very basic 'rules' that could be taught very quickly and easily to a complete beginer that would then enable them to go away look at a scene and instantly improve there photos.
 
It would appear however we have differing opinions on this

However out of curiosity what affirms your certainty that you can't teach someone these things quickly? and what would be your benchmark of time relative to this?
 
I think the most important things to understand is, understanding how each element works togther and how each effects the other, ISO, Exposure, DOF, Composition, light conditions and learning about the limitations of your camera and trying to get the best out of it. There are lots of rules, rule of 3rd, rule of zones, but if you don't understand the basic's then you would really progress.

But as highlighted above, without the right light conditions to take the image in the first place and understanding how to setup your camera to achieve that extra wow factor, you'll be left with a flat uninteresting image.
 
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