sxrich

Thanks for the kind words! I'm so done with mirrorless/dslr debates etc. Just tools. Horizontal above girls, 1/3 up. I also debated on more range of contrast ie zone system but I thought there was enough. It was a lucky capture as I was shooting other students playing in the fountains - see image. I just changed my perspective/view

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sxrich

Thanks - Herbie seems confused - He is struggling choosing his daily gender I guess. But, he is teaching me about cropping so I'm blessed. In any event, these young guys/students are considered "at risk" ie future gangstas of America. Living in and around "the projects" with heavy gang activity, their odds of productive lives are minimal. So, I spent time letting them shoot some pics. The program was run thru a church and I took a portrait of each student, printed and framed an 8x10, to be given at "their art show". Sadly, I'm at the show......NOT one family member for any of them shows up to view their work. Frankly, much of their work was far superior to the photography I've seen posted by certain members here - typically the arrogant ones who hate composition. LOL! Here's a pic of two students. Apparently gangs use hand signals.

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Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

You're one of the "good guys". We need more like you. You should be proud of yourself.

MrMophoto Loc: Rhode Island "The biggest little"

I spent 15 years teaching photography in a public high school, I have two degrees in the Arts, Take that anyway you want. In my photo classes I broke down composition into twelve types. I called them "Compositional Structures" for lack of a better term. They are; Division to Thirds (not rule of), Balance-Asymmetrical, Balance Symmetrical, Diagonals, Leading lines, Framing, Radial, Foreground Interest, Filling the Frame, Repetition, Golden Triangle, Golden Ratio (Fibonacci Spiral).
I would tell my classes that good composition is what will make your images more interesting than the next persons. Your job as an artist is to keep people interested in looking at your work and good composition will help you do that. Using good composition should be second nature when composing a shot (notice the root word - compose)
You don't go out to take photos with thirds in mind, but rather when you find a subject you feel is worth taking a photo of, your next step is to decide what composition will enhance and make that photo even better.
The analogy I would use is; That's a great landscape, now would it look better with the horizon at the thirds? would that tree look better off-center or symmetrical? should I step back and use those overhanging branches as a form of framing? etc. etc. Maybe I could shoot the same scene in a variety of compositions and see which I like better.
Like I said, that process should be second nature.
Photos can and often have more than one "structure" to them, some of the most iconic photos do. When you understand how these structures work and why, then you can begin to break the "rules", because you know why you are.
I consider myself an artist working in photography and I've posted a few examples of my work.
I'm not going to get into the present state of education in this country, except Covid did and will continue to have an impact.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Looks like your camp is mostly street photography. Out here in rural Oregon it’s Mother Nature. I had to consolidate a lot of information to teach photography to 20 kids ages 10-14 yrs old and using a super basic point and shoot $18 digital camera. The Youth Camp was 4 days long and 4 hr a day.
It’s not a college level class by any means. I challenge these complaining people to teach 20 or so young youth of today.

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

I concur fully. As far as I am concerned shooting utilizing the rules and guidelines you've learned shouldn't take any more thought than using the clutch in a manual transmission car...you don't have to think about it, it becomes second nature. Photography to me is all about seeing, not looking, but seeing. We're literally surrounded by photo opportunities everyday, and the choice is the photographer's as to how to shoot it, creatively and artistically, or just another snapshot.

MrMophoto Loc: Rhode Island "The biggest little"

ABSOLUTELY!!!!
Andy Warhol once said; there is art all around us, we just have to see it.
I have also learned that your equipment isn't an issue, an artist will always do the best with what they have.

ReFlections Loc: From LA to AL

Thank you. Keep up the good work. Appreciate your post. Glad it is not about Nikon vs Canon, dslr vs mirrorless, or what camera/lens to take to Europe. Keep posting!

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

yep, there never should be a time when one would say, "there's nothing to shoot."

rcarol

We don't need no stinkin' rules.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Rongnongno
Regardless of all the rules of composition and framing you are looking for, the first requirement is to gain the attention of the observer. If they don't look at your image, nothing else matters. The strong central figure, aided by all the compositional elements does exactly that, gets you to look at the image. The image also tells a story or suggests one. What are those girls doing underneath, who is that woman sitting there, how are they all related. All these things go through the observers mind whether he thinks about them or not. I think it's a great image and obviously a lot of the viewers whose attention you got also got up on the wrong side of their beds.

sxrich

Thanks very much! Still surprised - not one photographer from this site has posted one single image of their own on this post or another one I started on composition. It's almost as if we stopped teaching math and science in school. It's now victimhood and gender identity. How to break "rules" in the name of artistic expression because it's hard to be disciplined. The term "rules" offends people LOL!!!!

autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut

OK, here's a couple:

sxrich

Thanks - you nailed it.

MrMophoto Loc: Rhode Island "The biggest little"

Autofocus, nice set
For those who object to the term "rules", remember it's only a word.
Let's call them "compositional suggestions"