What are "the rules" ?

Not many rules do I even remember after so many years and experiences. And I don't religiously hold to, even those. Rule of thirds, off center look or movement into the frame, are the most often remembered. There are some things, I just do without really being aware, because it's what I do to get the image. It comes with experience, not memorization. What works, works. But often, still has to be "fudged" this way or that, after the fact.
I do try, to frame the final image in camera.
 
Maybe I'm leading people up the garden path a bit by using the word 'rules' ... But I couldn't think of a more apposite one ... So it's not really whether we should or shouldn't follow a rule-book or a rule of thirds (or whatever) ... But what rules do we set ourselves?
 
Look for a story in a photograph.. make sure that the picture tells a story and that it can invoke feeling, so people can understand what you want to say - without words!
 
What a good idea for a thread :clap2:

I saw it this morning and have been mulling over my reply all day - there have been some thought-provoking good'uns in the meantime and I shall henceforth think of Luke as "Marvin"... :D

Now, full disclosure. I am by nature a rebel. I differentiate between laws - gravity, for instance and the Road Traffic Act 1988 - which I generally obey because there are consquences to breaking them (Every Choice has an Eventual Consequence, or "EC2") but a rule is something I use to measure a length... My school days were the worst of my life because I spent them being told what to do by people whose only qualification was that they were taller than me and in my senior years even that was no longer the case.

So I don't photograph - or live - by rules but I do have a way - the Tao of Bill, if you like.

- I always carry a camera, but I seldom take a photo
- Being somewhere different is stimulating but does not, per se make me a better photographer or my pictures more interesting
- There is always a better angle
- Take the shot - then take another
- Travel light or you won't get there
- Want what you have don't have what you want
- The camera you have in your hand is the best tool for the job in front of you - wishing for something else will change nothing
- I am my your own worst editor
- I must master your tools or they will master me
- If the scene is cluttered or untidy, I move myself, or move on
- Nobody has copyright in their own image; if you are in public you are a potential subject for photography
- If you object, I will move on. I will explain, but I will never apologise - or delete
- There are times when putting the camera down is better; these include time spent with loved ones or places of great beauty - sometimes memory is superior to memory card
- There are times when my hands are better employed than wrapped around a camera; sometimes it is more important to help than to document
- I am only here for a short time as are my loved ones; I'd rather take the photo today than regret tomorrow

...I think that about sums it up.

Thank you for your attention :)
 
I don't set myself any rules. The only thing that ever stops me from taking a shot is my lack of confidence, my battery charge has ran out or I have forgotten to load my SDHC card. The first is a work in progress, the other two ... well one day I may learn to make it a rule to not leave the house without spares but I fear that I am genetically enhanced to be dozey!
 
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