Photography is all about capturing the moment. There are many guidelines that will help you to do this. Three of these rules are the rule of thirds, leading lines, and depth of field. The following professional and personal examples are outlined how to use these different techniques. Obviously the professional photographs are very moving and mine are very amateur but the professional photographs show how important light and other aspects are to making a photograph capture a magical moment.
Rule of Thirds
This photo was done by Paulina Tikunova and it was taken in a park in Italy. http://www.boredpanda.com/fox-found-gran-paradiso-national-park-italy/
I chose to represent the rule of thirds because of the placement of the fox’s face. It lies right where it is recommended to have the focus of an image if you are using the rule of thirds. This is made obvious by the draw over. The fox’s eyes are the first thing you see because they line up right where they are supposed to, the photographer did a beautiful job following this rule. Another beautiful part of this image is the color and how the fox stands out on the green grass it is laying on, while the gold in the background of the trees matches the gold of the fox. What a beautiful moment captured where the fox happened to be on the green grass standing out while at the same time complimenting the foliage.
The first thing seen in my photograph is my little girl’s funny face. This is because her face is right in the middle left rule of threes and because of this it stands out more, even though there’s a lot of colorful flowers to the right. You can tell she was not happy with me for telling her she couldn’t pick flowers and trying to act confused by it.
Leading Lines
Marcelo Castro took this photo and works for National Geographic http://www.myinnerspaceblog.com/2014/05/27/2014-national-geographic-traveler-photo-contest/
This photograph was the perfect example of leading lines because of the lines the light leads to the subject of the photograph. The light from the window moves your eye across the image right to the boy reading, not only illuminating the child but creating an impact by showing the how empty and bare the room is. This photo shows not only a great example of using leading lines but different way to use light as well.
The lines in this photograph shows my little girl pointing to the flower with her body. These lines capture the moment of her wanting to touch the flower (while trying to fight the instinct not to pick it) and easing closer with her knees. These lines focus the image on her little finger reaching out to the beautiful flowers of the temple grounds.
Depth of Field
Photographer Rafael Hernandez. http://www.myinnerspaceblog.com/2014/05/27/2014-national-geographic-traveler-photo-contest/
I loved this image and how dramatic it is! The image focuses on the axe, stump and even the chips flying off the tree from the blow are extremely clear, while the man wielding the axe is blurry and even blurrier behind him are the trees and landscape. These layers of focus and blur create a dynamic affect and when used well (like in this photo) can create a very strong emotion associated to an image.
Mine focuses on my little girl laughing while everything else behind her is blurry. Even the toys in her hand are slightly out of focus bringing more attention to her face. Unlike the professional photo it isn’t dramatic in the sharp way, it’s a more soft and intimate feel with the focus on the child’s face versus the axe and the wood chips flying away. This depth of field tool can be very versatile and bring a lot of emotion into a photograph.
Shaela Sutton 