<strong>What are the 5 fundamental rules of photography?</strong>
Photography happens to be one of the most popular art forms that allows individuals to present their visual imagination through a creative presentation. Just like all other art forms, photography too has its own set of fundamental rules and guidelines that allow photographers to take better and more appealing photographs. Here are five essential and basic, easy-to-follow rules of photography.
Rule of Thirds
Rule of thirds is the most important rule of clicking photographs. According to this rule, an image is divided into three equal parts, both vertically and horizontally. This means, it is a combination of equally divided nine segments. The rule here is to position the most important photographic elements along these segments or the lines of the segments intersect. The point of intersection is known as off-centre. This helps add balance and a point of focus to the photo. Every aspiring photographer needs to familiarize themselves with this trick, as both applying and breaking this rule can make a huge difference in the photos. This is especially helpful while photographing people.
Balancing the elements
A photograph usually contains various visual elements, be it in the foreground or the background. According to the rule of thirds, the main subject should be placed off-centre. However, this often leaves a void. This is where balance comes into play. Here, one can include another object of lesser significance to balance the weight of the subject and to fill the space. This, in turn, creates harmony in the photograph.
Incorporating leading lines
Leading lines refer to an arrangement of subjects or elements in a specific pattern in a photograph. For instance, staircases or railway tracks act as leading lines in a photo. These leading lines don’t necessarily need to be physical subjects, they can simply be alignments which attract the viewers towards the image.
Focussing on the viewpoint
A viewpoint in photography is basically the position from which a photographer chooses to capture his images. A few examples of popular viewpoints in photography include bird’s eye view, eye level and worm’s eye view among others. In the case of bird’s eye view, a photograph is captured from high above. Picture of a roadside clicked from a terrace is an example of bird’s eye view. In the case of eye level viewpoint, a photograph is captured from the same level as the subject involved. Taking a photograph from below or the ground level is described as worm’s eye view. An image of a bee in its hive clicked from the ground is a good example of this viewpoint.
Prioritizing the background
Background in photography refers to the space in front or behind the main subject or the context. The best way to capture a background is to simply look for plain and unobtrusive scenery and capture the shot, so that the attention is not driven away from the subject. A good strategy would be to make sure that the background isn’t overemphasized or absolutely out of focus.