boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Best way to learn what the gizmos do is read the manual and, or find a book that guides you through the workings ofyour camera. It takes time. It's like any learned skill, the more you do"it" the more comfortable you will become. By the way don't worry about screwing up the camera by setting to something "wrong" You van always reset the camera to out of the box settings.

wisner Loc: The planet Twylo

The one rule in photography is: There are no rules.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

True. With film, there were only four controls to worry about: film speed, shutter speed, aperture and focus. With digital, they throw “white balance” at us, as well as dozens of other “menu settings” for this or that.

tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky

The "rules" are in place because they work and have shown themselves to produce the most pleasing shots. Sure, there is a bit of the "rebel" in all of us and we like to break rules to be different and stand out from the crowd. That is OK in some situations. However, in photography, rather than looking at these as rules, think of them as a foundation, upon which a strong structure is built. For every great photograph out there, there are thousands that flout one or more of the basic concepts. Of course, they are "guidelines", but even that word means "a very good idea, which you ignore at your peril" when it comes to photography. What great photographers, both amateur and professional do, is to incorporate these "guidelines" into their being until they are second nature. That is how they produce consistently great work, when many others are churning out mediocre slop to feed their "rebel, you ain't the boss of me" lifestyle...

amehta Loc: Boston

For the rule of thirds, the basic idea is "don't have your primary subject in the center of the frame." The simple reason why is that the viewer sees the subject and then doesn't know which way to look next, so they move on to the next photo. You want someone to get wound up in the picture, literally, with their eyes going to the different elements in the image.

For the challenge of the digital camera, concentrate on the basics: focal length, exposure (ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation), and focus. Let the camera do the rest, and learn about one new feature at a time.

My DSLR has about 50 custom settings items, and I have changed about 1/4 of them. But when I am shooting, the only one I use is the flash control. Otherwise, I may change the metering mode (spot vs matrix/evaluative) and AF mode (rarely), which are me telling the camera how I want it to do the work for exposure and focus.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

kb is correct.
I would throw focus out of the equation, you are going to use focus anyway.

Digital is the same as 35mm
It all comes back to the basics.
The exposure triangle and white balance.
ISO (film speed)
Shutter speed
Aperture.
That is it.
All the rest is just "fluff and bubble" that can be learnt later.
http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography/

AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

Like every other rule, learn the rule and then shoot how you want as oftentimes your best shots will not be "by the book"

EmilMiller Loc: Miramar, FL

Here's my rule for composition, and it does often include the rule of thirds, or something approximating it. Look around the entire viewfinder, including the corners. Fill it with the things you want, exclude the things you don't. Remember that every scene will not conform to the format of your medium; if it doesn't plan on cropping the final image to fit your vision. Practice and constructive criticism will make you better, if your skin is not too thin.

b2bjacks Loc: Sequim, Washington

I call it the "rule of two turds" .. whatever floats your boat.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I took pictures for about 5 years starting in the late 40's with a Kodak Baby Brownie then in the early 50's progressed to a Voigtlander with 2 1/4" square negatives and to a later 35 mm model of the same camera and learned about DOF, F-stops, focus (that was all manual with no view screens), etc. as I progressed because everything was still manual. Then got a Canon Fb-T then an AE-1 which had minimal automatic features, but at least they did have split disc focus. Starting with the mid-90's we got a couple of Canons with digital features--they took good photos but were still pretty basic I got a first DSLR about four years ago, didn't like it so progressed to a Canon 60D, I can understand the Fae North's confusion. It is probably not with the basics, but the new cameras with a myriad of menus about things they have never dealt with or heard of could be overwhelming.

My suggestion to him/her is: Get a book about your specific camera, read it and go out and try things as it discusses them; when you understand them, go to the next chapter and repeat.

Good luck, keep shooting, and ask questions here, and when it concerns a consistent problem post photos here with your question. You will get lots of answers, some probably way over your head, but some good basic suggestions too. Post processing is a whole new and different world with it's own rules and guidelines. Don't worry about tweaking your photos until you are more satisfied with what you get out of the camera. PP will fix & do a lot but not everything.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Some good definitions and info posted here. Do note that is you use Photoshop it can be set to show the Rule of Thirds Grid Lines for you.

Bob Boner

Think of the rule of thirds as a suggestion, not a "rule." It is not appropriate for all images.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

If you have innate talent for images, the Rule of Thirds will come naturally to your photography. If you want to see to different photo styles in the movies, one following the rule of thirds, one NOT following it, a great departed filmmaker has left us with "Barry Lyndon" and "The Shining." "Barry Lyndon," though ponderous in pace by today's standards which try to get everything in between texting or sexting interruptions, is considered by many as the most beautiful film ever photographed, and "The Shining," a creepy contrast with a creepy violation of the Rule of Thirds. The filmmaker was Stanley Kubrick.

brokeweb Loc: Philadelphia

This is probably explained to you to the death, but to put it in a more common sense aspect: "You focus on your subject while it's in the middle of your viewfinder-frame. Keep your shutter 1/2 pressed to lock in your focus. Then move your subject, left or right, or up or down, so that it's not in the middle of the frame. That's pretty much the rule of thirds. I'm sure I will get boos from the gallery, but that is all it is.

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

For me it's not about being a rebel, but about going out on a limb, or taking a risk, sometimes it pays off big, other times you get bit on the butt