My dream in high school was to capture the perfect story on black and white film. This one picture would convey all of the emotions I felt deeply at the time; wanting to be admired, yearning for wisdom, and of course making it big financially! In my Photography 101 class, I learned the same rules thirty years ago for taking a great picture of rule -of-thirds, leading lines, and depth-of-field. As l looked through my photos, I realized that I needed the refresher and lots of practice!

Rule of Thirds – 

Professional (those making money)

Amateur (me not making money)

Let’s take a look at how the rule of thirds apply to each….

This picture of the Grand Tetons is stunning! The first rule that came to mind was the rule of thirds. Drawing just the horizontal lines across the picture, the mountains, trees and reflection are all within a third of the picture. A great way to focus on each separately while enhances overall.

The focal points of tree line and the bottom of the mountains is where the top vertical and horizontal lines meet, and the beginning of the reflection is found where the bottom lines meet.

In my photo, the top of Mount Hood is at the intersection of the lines, and it is easy to follow down the mountain to the clouds. Each element of sky, snow-covered mountain, and clouds are seen.

Leading Lines

Professional (those making money)

Amateur (me not making money)

The elements of leading lines are in each.

The rows of flowers naturally take our eye to the windmill. This also gives us a feeling of depth perception showing distance. The windmill arms also help guide our eye to the tower of the windmill. Having the lines also be in contrasting colors captures attention.

The loading chute is normally not very interesting, it is full of straw, and cow pies. I realized that it does become much more striking if I took the picture from the top looking down to the gates. The lines of the fence naturally draw your eye down to the center. The spaces on the slates of the center gate contrast nicely with the diagonal lines.

Depth of Field

Professional (those making money)

Amateur (me not making money)

Let’s look closer at what is in and out of focus…

The focus is on the yellow poppies and the individual drops of rain on the petals. This enhances the fragility of the drops that can slide off at any minute. By showing these instead of the background behind, we can enjoy the uniqueness of each different shaped drop.

I wanted to focus on the pink spots on this plant to show the variegated colors. The rest of the plants and my living room beyond were not what I wanted to highlight, so purposely blurred. The individual leaves shows how thick and becoming this small plant really is.

What I learned besides needing help – 

There are many, many other elements of photography including lighting, framing, and general composition. However, with just these three, I can get the help I need! The rule of thirds is what I think of while pointing my IPhone at scenery. The leading lines is a great way to show exactly the element in the picture I want people to see. I learned something new with my IPhone, too, being able to have depth of field to make small details more interesting.