Bohica Loc: SE Coast of NC

Staryed using rule of thirds with film 50+ years ago and it just carried over to Digital

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

If the picture taker concentrated composition attention on rule(s) perfection, and worked to make rule(s) really obvious in the picture, and succeeded, maybe the picture only turned to out to be the illustration of the rule(s), nothing more.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

👍👍

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

👍 👍 👍

There are others who have mentioned aspects of these two posts, in prior comments and threads, but if the advice gets intermingled with weeds, it may just lead to a novice out tangled in the weeds.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Gorgeous images Bill - nicely captured!

mindzye Loc: WV

In short, practice, practice. In the long run, study some of the great photographers - of all ages. Are you drawn to landscapes, florals, candid group images, studio, street/ personal points of interest; clear precise focusing, or more of an impressionistic type of approach - minimalism and/ or macro? Cityscapes with interesting geometrics and lines - weather related / environmental - documentary? Your personal tastes will evolve.

There are some excellent examples of these areas here on UHH, from environmental to city/ landscapes to florals to animals in environment, to b&w to street scenes.. There are also lots of simply images of record.
Learn to be able to justify your opinion on the differences, which will need the ability to change your mind with new and updated factual information, time and experience - caution of 'moire' opinions.

Learn your camera; experience along with study will guide you.

Learn the rules of composition, and then forget them. In another field of interest it was encouraged to learn the information and then forget it. The information come to the fore when needed. Learn to trust what feels good to you in an image. Your opinion of your own work will change with learning as to just what is a compelling image; your evolvement in photography. Let your innate come through.

Are you interested in picture perfect (sharpness is a requirement on some -a lot of - applications), or an image that draws an emotion; or simply one that encourages you to keep looking at it - a quality of a great image.
Again, several photographers here have this capability. Seek out what 'jazzes' you and work in this area. It will come; learn what works for you, and what doesn't. Be critical of your work, but not toooo critical, as this perspective will either encourage or discourage the desire to move forward.
Hopefully you'll learn to stretch your vision and capabilities.

Keep in mind that a technically perfect sharp image that is boring is a perfectly boring picture;
a perfect image of record.

Yet in all of this let the passion of this art form propel you and motivate you to 'just get out there' and shoot.
In time you will find if you need to crop, to the single focal point of your image, or if the whole of an image gives the focal point of interest room to breathe within it's environment - telling the 'rest of the story'.
When you may want a 'square' presentation or full ratio of the image - you will begin to question what format is required, or just leave the heck alone - keeping in mind this takes study of this approach to detect when this would benefit your image. When this occurs, you will know you're on your way in advancing your compositional skills.

And when you get that first image of 'ok, this is different', and you get excited with what you produced, you'll know you're on your way. The bug has taken root. Annd, well, it's Katy Bar the Door after that.

If desired, post here and get some insight from critique - from Knowledgeable photographers. There are a few very good and experienced professionals here- from studio to landscape/ animals kingdom, documentary, cityscapes. And some Very good, impassioned and motivated photographers - the same direction as above - that are here simply for the love of the image - ok, and the adventure!! :] And talking about the craft. And like family we often argue. Deal widit.

Above all, seek the lighting. All the rest, although important, is secondary. Disclaimer; Documentary and reporting may very well not be secondary - Story telling is the highpoint. whew, 'bout got myself into an argument here..

The structures of composition and tonalities of compelling black and white images makes for compelling color images - learning to see what makes it compelling will aid you in color images. Learning how to adjust settings for good slides garnered me a whole lot of experience in b&w and color - types and manufacturers of film as well. It's all a learning curve.

Post processing is a whole 'nother conversation.

You might search the internet for videos on photography composition. One of my current interests are from a guy who travels NC Europe; Mads Peter Iverson. You might also consider some publications from Bruce Peterson, Moose Peterson, the late Vivian Maier's work, and of course Ansel Adams, John Gerlach.

A suggestion is to find your path of interest, and, well, pursue it. It's a very rewarding journey. Best of luck to you.

JBuckley

Exactly.

So often, the (view) or picture that I stumble into, has all the right ingredients to the scene that first, caused me to “gasp” at a wonderful scene.
All the elements of composing the shot stream into my brain, but I know that later on, when I look at the photo, that there were several great pictures (in one shot)! By taking a wider shot, I can (reframe) all or parts of my first photo and improve it, or make several wonderful captures out of the original.

In other words, I might have only seen (the second best), view when snapping the shutter.

Sometimes our eye only sees what our first impressions were in a hurry to see.

[like a second opinion] from another part of our brains.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Too many folks go to extremes- stick to the rules! vs. forget about the rule!- it kida silly. Like lots of other things in photography- differet camers, filters, various kinds of lighing hear, differet techniques- there is a time and a place for most logical things, methods and techniques. You are the final arbiter of your methodology so it is wise to utulize whatever you can to perfect your work and enjoy the results.

If you are photographing a bird in flight, a high-speed athletic event, or motorsport, you are not gonna refer to a diagram, read a book, or worry about rules- you will shoot instinctively. If, however, you have studied, practiced, and successfully mastered some of the foundational principles of composition, you will put some of these techniques into play in split seconds. You might leave sufficient negative space in front or in the back of the subject to illustrate movement and direction. You will know how to direct the viewers' eyes to the motif of your images. You can tell the story! You will not only change focal lengths to bring things in closer or encompass a wider view but to create, exaggerate, or compress leading lines.

Some photographers are indeed "artists" but we are not painters. We can not always change every element of any scene or subject to arrive at our final statement or story as we perceive it. We often have to capture a scene, event, or expression in a split second. When effective composition becomes a kind of muscle memory, your results will be more satisfying.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I'm not sure what you mean by "work the scene". Are you suggesting PP and/or AI to produce a fantasy rather than actuality?

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Fantasy rather than reality? What does that even mean?

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

As I have always understood it, 'work the scene' means to take photos of the scene, using as many different views as give good results. Has nothing to do with PP. And PP/AI does NOT imply fantasy rather than actuality.

bonjac Loc: Santa Ynez, CA 93460

When I like what I see and how I see it, I shoot. Composition is in my minds eye.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Gestalt!

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Actually rather than similarity to the rule of thirds, some would complain that the horizon is right in the middle.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

I always thought " Work the Scene " meant taking your time to look at the scene from all angles and perspectives... Look at where the light is, check angles and DOF, focus points, scenes within a scene... etc. The MORE one looks, the MORE one sees.... Take your time. I totally agree with you.