Lens-Artists,  Photographic techniques,  Themed galleries

Gallery: breaking the rules

May 5, 2025 / 59 Comments

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist

Pablo Picasso

As children we are taught to follow the rules, whether those set by our parents, our school or society in general. And when we first start to take our photography seriously we discover that there are rules there too.

Among those I learned were:

The rule of thirds – placing your subject in the left or right third of an image, at the intersections of two equally spaced horizontal and two equally spaced vertical lines.

Leading lines – using human-made or natural lines to lead the viewer’s eyes through a photograph to the main subject or focus point.

Foreground interest – adding depth to a scene by placing a person or object in the foreground (it is sometimes advised to place a person wearing red at the front of a landscape, a devise I personally dislike).

Breathing space – allow some room around your main subject, don’t put it too close to the edge of the frame.

Choose your format – vertical shape for upright subjects such as people, horizontal for landscapes etc. (the formats are even called ‘portrait’ and ‘landscape’).

Exposure – a simple and obvious rule, as over- or under-exposing your subject will reduce its impact.

Focus – another obvious one, as why would you want your subject to be out of focus?

Depth of field – use a shallow depth of field for macros and portraits, but for landscapes have everything in focus.

Angle – hold the camera straight, don’t tilt the horizon.

Breaking or bending the rules

It’s perhaps really only once you have learned these rules and are applying them instinctively that you can also learn when and how to break them.

The secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place

Rick Wakeman

For this week’s Lens Artists challenge Ritva is encouraging us to break the rules. Like her I found on searching my archives that I’m rather a stickler for the rules. On the whole I follow them instinctively, after so many years of taking photos. Nowadays my eye ‘sees in thirds’, often even when I’m not looking through a camera lens! And my pet hate in photography is to see the sea appearing to run downhill, especially when it’s so easy to fix these days.

Nevertheless, all the photos below break at least one of the rules I learned. However, in doing so you may spot that they follow a different rule, since some are contradictory. For instance, by breaking the ‘rule’ of thirds you may find yourself instead following the one that favours the use of symmetry to achieve a strong composition.

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun

Katharine Hepburn
Wahiba Sands, Oman

This shot breaks the rule of thirds by placing the horizon right in the centre of the image. My aim was to focus attention on the car and passengers while giving equal weight to sand and sky. However, the placing of the people follows the rule!

On Baobab Beach, Madagascar

This is another shot that breaks the rule of thirds. But it does so by following another composition technique, the use of symmetry.

The ruined slave-trading fort on Kunta Kinteh Island, Gambia

A final rule of thirds breaker. This composition emphasises the smallness of the island under a hot African sky. Interestingly, I occasionally put a few of my images up for sale as stock shots on Dreamstime and this is my best-seller there. My guess is that buyers find the large expanse of sky useful for placing text.

Kim Il Sung Square and the Grand People’s Study House, Pyongyang, North Korea

For this shot I deliberately left the foreground empty as I wanted to emphasise the huge size of the square and the relative lack of people.

Egrets on the beach, Kovalam, Kerala, India

I deliberately over-exposed this shot in processing as I wanted to give the birds a more delicate, ethereal quality.

Green vervet monkey, Bijilo Monkey Park, Gambia

Another deliberate over-exposure (done in camera and emphasised in processing). I wanted to soften his fur and draw attention to those soulful eyes.

Rose, Ealing, west London

Softening the focus and zooming right in gives this rose a more delicate appearance and draws you into its heart.

The jacaranda blooms in my header photo are also deliberately out of focus to create a (hopefully) magical look to one of my favourite trees.

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington State

In this image I’ve broken the rule that says landscape shots should have everything in focus. By using a shallower depth of field I’ve made the lupines the star of the shot while the out of focus mountains suggest the setting without being the centre of attention.

In Swaledale, Yorkshire, England

This shot breaks the rule that suggests that landscape photos should be taken in a landscape format. By shooting in portrait mode I hoped to emphasise the impression of looking up at that tree on the horizon.

The Rockefeller Center, NYC

Shots of tall buildings often necessitate breaking the rules, as it’s only possible to fit the building in if you tilt the camera. And this technique can add dynamism to the shot.

Carnival in Praia, Santiago, Cape Verde

And using a tilted angle here adds real dynamism and movement to echo the carnival atmosphere.

Ahu Tahai, Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

With this shot I’m challenging the rule that says you shouldn’t put your main subject too close to the edge of the frame. But I would argue this moai has plenty of breathing space above. And I wanted to frame the head with that beautiful sky. The rule of thirds is also ignored but as with the Baobab Beach shot above, I’ve used symmetry instead to draw attention to the main subject.

Sunset in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India

This image also breaks the breathing space rule as that camel is placed far too close to the edge of the frame. It also breaks the rule of thirds. However, I think this composition emphasises the vastness of the desert skies contrasted with the smallness of the people and animals who inhabit it. You can’t see any people? Look carefully next to and even in the bush!

59 Comments

  • Amy

    May 8, 2025 at 14:41 Reply

    What a creative photo gallery for this theme, Sarah! The first one and last one are stunning especially.

  • Leanne Cole

    May 7, 2025 at 09:35 Reply

    First off I love that Katherine Hepburn quote. It’s interesting reading your comments and how you consciously decided not to follow the rules, I think many have done it by mistake, I know I tend to do the same, if I do break them I do it for a reason. Great images Sarah.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 7, 2025 at 11:11 Reply

      Thank you Leanne 🙂 Yes, I loved that Katherine Hepburn quote – I’m rather an admirer of her in general. But if I gave the impression I consciously broke the rules for all these shots, that may be misleading. I probably did for some of them whereas for most I simply composed in a way that looked right at the time and only later realised it didn’t fit the accepted rules!

  • wetanddustyroads

    May 6, 2025 at 14:46 Reply

    My knowledge of photography is limited when it comes to rules (although I’ve learned quite a bit from you – the rule of thirds, for example, is something I read for the first time on your blog). And when I look at your photos in this post, they are all beautiful (whether you broke the rule or not). I especially like the Baobab Beach photo – there is a type of simplicity in it yet also striking.

  • kzmcb

    May 6, 2025 at 06:46 Reply

    There are lots of ways to learn rules , and one way is by showing the opposite. I enjoyed all of your photos and explanations, Sarah, thank you.

  • I. J. Khanewala

    May 6, 2025 at 04:10 Reply

    Lovely. I think you showed very well that landscapes let you do a lot of experimenting, and often come out wonderful without using the usual rules. I like your experiments with over-exposure.

  • Sofia Alves

    May 5, 2025 at 17:24 Reply

    Amazing collection of rule breaking photos, Sarah. I love the fact it is deliberate and not just because it felt right. I suppose it does help to know the rules 😀

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 5, 2025 at 18:19 Reply

      Thanks so much Sofia 😊 I don’t think however that I could claim all this rule-breaking was deliberate – I think I follow what feels right and realise afterwards that I didn’t follow my usual rules!

  • Anne Sandler

    May 5, 2025 at 16:06 Reply

    Well, you do know your photo rules and how to break them, creating beautiful images. From this post I learned that creating your vision in camera yields a great picture. Love the one of the monkey. Thanks for giving me a lot to think about!

  • margaret21

    May 5, 2025 at 15:38 Reply

    These photos all work. As you say, break one rule and you pobably observe another. But in each case you have obtained a dramatic result, and established the mood I’m guessing you were aiming at. Rues were mde to be broken!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 5, 2025 at 16:02 Reply

      Thank you very much Margaret 😊 Yes, it’s all about establishing a mood and that wins over following the rules any day – but more often than not at least one of those rules will help you do just that!

  • Anonymous

    May 5, 2025 at 14:11 Reply

    Brilliant Sarah. I’d carry on breaking the rules if I were you because these images are really good 🙂

  • Joanne

    May 5, 2025 at 14:01 Reply

    A great post! I love your images! Every one of them is a fine photograph. Breaking the rules sets you free to compose photos in a way that emphasizes the meaning and your perception of it. Great work!

  • Rose

    May 5, 2025 at 13:37 Reply

    Good post on photography rules, Sarah. I took a photography class in college way back when we had to develop our film in a dark room. I don’t really have a good eye for photography, but I snap away hoping to capture something for good memories. Often what I see visually, doesn’t show up in a photograph the way I think it will… I love your photos especially the over-exposed ones, they give such a surreal view.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 5, 2025 at 15:59 Reply

      Thank you Rose 🙂 I do know what you mean about photos not always turning out as the scene appeared to you, but I do think you can learn how a camera sees the world differently and compensate for it to some extent. The eye has a habit of filtering out what you don’t need or want to see, whereas the camera captures everything in front of it!

  • Tina Schell

    May 5, 2025 at 13:30 Reply

    Not surprisingly Sarah, a terrific post. Those of us who have been at it for a very long time (longer than I care to admit thank you!!) do instinctively know the rules and when to break them as you’ve illustrated beautifully. Your monkey and the egrets are my favorites. I don’t often over-expose but I loved those examples and will keep them in mind for the future! Also a heads-up, for me the Cape Verde and Easter Island images did not come through although I revisited several times. Maybe check them out.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 5, 2025 at 15:58 Reply

      Thanks so much Tina 😊 I don’t very often over-expose either (at least not deliberately!) as I tend to favour quite saturated images, but I do it from time to time and it can be effective. I’m glad the other shots came through for you eventually. I’ve had similar experiences on other people’s pages recently and a refresh usually sorts it.

  • Ritva Sillanmäki Photography

    May 5, 2025 at 11:32 Reply

    Thanks for doing my bit, pointing out all the rules we do use even if not thinking about them. I find the reasoning behind breaking the rules acceptable 🙂 I enjoyed all the images, oddly the tilted angle had a good effect that did what you aimed for. Great post. You do know the rules and how to break them Sarah.

  • Yvonne Dumsday

    May 5, 2025 at 10:54 Reply

    Very many thanks for teaching me those rules and showing me how to break them successfully. I guess I have, unknowingly, been breaking them all my life but, in future, I shall abide by them – or, knowingly, disobey. 😁

    • Sarah Wilkie

      May 5, 2025 at 11:01 Reply

      Thank you Yvonne 🙂 To be honest, a lot of these rules simply relate to what makes an image look good and you’re probably following them much of the time without realising it!

  • restlessjo

    May 5, 2025 at 09:32 Reply

    The rules are for a purpose, but so much of photography is personal and about conveying a certain emotion or impression. Many of you gifted photographers can do that with ease, Sarah. I especially like the monkey’s soulful face xx

  • Sue

    May 5, 2025 at 09:23 Reply

    What brilliant post, Sarah! great explanations for the reasons you broke the rules,,,,, I love the old ruined Gambian fort and the Swaledale image which works brilliantly in portrait format! now I need to struggle with this challenge myself, and I think you might have encouraged me to get a move on

Do share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you! And please include your name in case WP marks you 'anonymous' - thank you