I know what most of you are probably thinking right about now…has Joe sold out and embraced the rules of composition? Oh no Joe, say it ain’t so!!!

Well relax my fellow photographers because I have definitely not sold out, or ever will; you’ll have to pry my dead cold fingers of the shutter release before that happens. In fact, it took  a lot just to even mention the word RULE….why? Because rules are a hindrance to creativity, the shackles of artistry,  imagination,  and inspiration…that’s why.

Having said this, there are times when certain “guidelines” are in order and when and whether to shoot odd number or even number of subjects when applicable. I will tell you this, in over fifty years of shooting I’ve never thought about it. Anyone that ever tells you to never shoot an even number of anything has no idea what he’s talking about.

The pundits that look over and down on us to make sure we don’t do anything that would result in a downright just awful looking photograph, have absolutely nothing better to do than make you feel like a stooge if you break any of their silly rules. Case in point, the Rule of Thirds, and the Leading in Rule are two that come to mind.

Ok, the Rule of Odds states that having an odd number of subjects or objects in a photo will have more visual interest. Conversely, an even number of the same subjects or objects will result in the viewer separating them into pairs; creating symmetry and dare I say it…dullness.

Even numbers, the powers that be contend, will result in our brain dividing the subjects or objects, and what happens is that the photo is no longer viewed as a whole, but separate pieces. What a bunch of drivel….it’s pure BS…these people are all immature children all dressed up in their parent’s clothes!!

Total absurdity…what I would give to meet some of these people that think they know what they’re saying. If anyone out there knows of someone, please send them to me.

Don’t you think that the arrangement of said even number subjects or objects just might have something to do with it? What about the light and the color? Aren’t they two elements that are this just about as important as it gets???? Isn’t it possible that they could be wrong? Damn right they are, and I have countless photos to prove it.

As I said, there are times and places for everything, and I for one agree with a lot of  what shooting odd subjects or objects does.

You see I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around our planet. In these classes and workshops I show people how to incorporate the basic elements of visual design into their imagery.

Color, Light, Pattern, Texture, Balance, Form, and Shape are the elements and the one I want to talk about as far as the Rule of Odds is Shape. Although there are countless shapes, the four basic ones are: circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles; it’s the triangles that are important here…and what I want to talk about.

If I’m going to shoot an odd number, the reason will be two-fold: First, and this is about triangles, I like to arrange the subjects or objects in such a way inside my frame as to create a triangle; a visually interesting basic shape. Sometimes I try for an equilateral triangle as shown in the portrait above I took in Cuba of three waiters. Some times it’s an isosceles triangle with only two side equal…this can be implied to the point of being esoteric.

Btw, if I have to shoot an even number of four, I use a diamond as the shape; as in the photo of the four ballet dancers.

This is a good time to tell my fellow photographers why you should only crop in the camera. It’s important to use the edges of the frame as a computational tool. I have often used two of the edges to complete triangles.

When you have an odd number of images, and they are all close to being the same size and weight, the viewer will usually look at each one about the same amount of time, before going back to the one that drew the viewer in first. Btw, this will depend on things like the amount of light each will get. The above photo is a good example of always thinking of shapes.

If one gets more light than the other two, then the viewer will always travel to where the brightest light is first. Color will be another denominator.

Colors near the warm part of the spectrum will get more attention. For example red is bold and the viewer will be more aware of it in your composition.

The other reason to shoot an odd number is to create a line. Line is the most important of all the elements of visual design and without Line, none of the others would exist. You and I, planes, trains, and automobiles would cease to exist…why? Because we all have an outline.

I’ll use my subjects or objects in such a way as to move the viewer around the frame. They are no longer organic or non-organic things, but leading and/or directional lines.

So here’s some examples of odd and even photos. Let me know which of the photos that has an even number are dull and boring:

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime. On July 30th I begin my 29th year at the Maine Media Workshops. I’ve had the same week since the beginning. It’s the week of the Lobster Festival down the road in Rockland. It offers a completely different set of photo ops than one would expect when coming to photograph the coastline, lighthouses, and fishing villages of Maine. Come join me and spend a week completely immersed in your love for photography.

Don’t forget to send me a photo and question to: AskJoeB@gmail.com, and I’ll create a video critique for you.

JoeB

Since my background is in painting and design, I still consider myself an artist. I just changed the medium from a brush to a camera and I use my camera to style my photographs; creating my art.

What I mean is I move things around in my composition, or I add things or props if I have them or they’re easy to get on really short notice. I rarely see what I want, I photograph as though my camera was a canvas on an easel, and I take pictures of what I’d like to see.

If moving a chair to the left or right…or taking it out altogether makes the composition stronger then I’m all for it. If the waiter has better light on his face if he’s looking in the other direction then I’ll ask him if he would look the other way…and offer to email him a copy.

This type of picture taking is beyond the scope of those that call themselves purists. It’s not the type of purist whose dogmatic approach to photography means absolutely no digital manipulation after the shutter is pressed; I think I could count them on one hand and still have enough fingers to hold a fork.

The kind of purist I’m talking about is the kind that walks up to a scene and shoots it the way it is and criticizes those that don’t. It would be beneath him to add or subtract something…move a chair or a trash can, etc.

I digress.

So let’s get down to the title of this post, “Do you believe it”….what do I mean?

If you’re like me and you consider yourself a painter whose medium is a camera, which you should, and you want to change something just make sure it looks like you didn’t do anything.

I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around our planet. I always tell my fellow photographers that when they add something or move something to take a step back and ask themselves if they believe that what they did looks believable; it’s exactly what I do.

For example, you’re in your kid’s bedroom and a shaft of light is falling on the floor next to the window. You want to say to the viewer that it is indeed a child’s bedroom so you put a pair of red high-top sneakers in that shaft of light, and you put them in a perfect position side by side. This is when you take a step back and ask yourself if your kid would really put his shoes that way or would one of them be laying on its side and the other facing the other direction; this is what I mean by do you believe it.

In the above photo, do you believe it? Was it exactly like that when I walked into the kitchen or did the artist in me paint it differently than the way I was actually seeing it? How about the waiter in Venice?

Do you believe he just happened to be standing there?

One last note, The same goes for any post-processing I might do to one of my images. Before I hit save, I lean back and look at it through the eyes of the viewer…I then ask myself would he believe it.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

In my latest part I post, I was dealing with distortion. I talked about the difference you get when you stand off to one side or the other while photographing a building, or standing in the middle of it to achieve symmetrical distortion.

In this post I want to talk about the entire composition; thinking about everything that’s contained within the four edges of your frame. I’m talking about both the positive space (the space that has mass), and everything else that would be called the negative space. I call it,  “The whole enchilada”, and several years I wrote a post on it.

When I talk to my online students at the BPSOP, and in my daily critiques with those that take my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around out planet, I talk about why we shouldn’t crop anywhere but in the camera.

There are several reasons, one of them is to use the edges of your frame as a compositional tool.  If you’re familiar with my teachings, that is incorporating the elements of visual design into your photography, You know that shape is one of the basic elements, and squares, circles, rectangles and triangles are the four basic shapes.

If you were to think about those four shapes when you’re composing one of your photos, it would open up a new door for you as far as creating visual interest and tension. Of course, this would take right-brained thinking to be able to see these elements.

Keeping in mind what I just talked about in my part I post on symmetrical distortion, and add to that thought this post on shapes, and using the edges of the frame as a compositional tool, you’ll come up with images as the one I submit to you now.

In composing this photo of an office building in the Galleria area of Houston for the oil company that took up several floors, I thought about shapes; specifically triangles. By using the right side of my brain, I no longer saw a building (left brain thinking), I saw a triangle. I thought about  the triangle I was creating with the building by standing (up close and personal) in the center, and the two triangles I created on either side all with the help of the edges of my frame.

So my fellow photographers, the next time you go out shooting, think about the effects of negative space that borders and defines the positive space ie., your subject, and try to create shapes wit

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2017 workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

Send me a photo and question to: AskJoeB@gmail.com, and I’ll create a video critique for you.

JoeB