Rules Schmules

Maybe it's because of my personality to challenge all norms in order to find my own place in this chaotic world. Maybe it's because I just don't have the best visual differentiation abilities (ask my partner who likes to tease me about it all the time) and so I seem to see things a little differently than most. Maybe it's because of what my psychologist calls ADHD and I loving refer to as monkey mind, which keeps me from focusing on anything for more than 30 seconds at most. No matter what the reason, I don't think about rules of composition now and never have. Camera in hand, I give myself over to my mind's eye to capture things as I see them. I simply shoot and shoot and shoot, rarely even checking the images as I go. At the end of the day, it's all one big surprise.


Some of my favorite quotes on this matter are by Ansel Adams, who is a photographer I have learned many lessons from. Though I didn't know his position on composition until years after revering his work, it was a pleasant discovery to find that one of my heros thought as I do.

"The so-called rules of photographic composition are, in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and immaterial."

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” 

My other favorite quote is by Edward Weston. "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk."

To me, a photograph is about visualization. A few posts back I shared a link to rare footage of Ansel Adams discussing his own visualization techniques. I encourage you to check it out! Here is an interview conducted by BBC in 1983 with Adams. Enjoy!

~beth