Mine, to state out loud what it is about the image I'm about to shoot that actually interested me- that lets me know what it is I need to concentrate on. Then, my rule is to include everything that supports that definition and eliminate everything that distracts from it.

Sounds simple enough, but there was a time when I was shooting a wet-weather falls in the Smokeys. I stopped by the side of the road and said to myself "that's beautiful" - grabbed my camera and started shooting....but wasn't seeing in my viewfinder the reason I stopped. I literally asked myself "what was it about this scene that made me stop?" - it was the way the water was streaming through these moss covered rocks. After identifying that, I was able to concentrate on what caught my eye to begin with.

Nice image there- & I have sometimes felt that way too- not being able to capture the feeling/mood of what I'm seeing through the camera- Or seeing the final image later & thinking that's not what I had seen but then it can metamorphis into something even better. At times I feel I walk around with an imaginary viewfinder against my eye, zooming in & out on life, asking myself if that would make a good picture. But most of the time when I am taking pictures, I concentrate on leaving the periferal crap out without cutting off any parts of the initial subject matter... scalping heads, missing limbs, etc. I have to remind myself that I can always crop later. I have no rules, ...just thoughts. :)

Point well taken - maybe "rule" is too harsh a term (after all, what is a rule if not something to be broken in search of abetter way?). Let's rephrase the question: what is your primary thought process when you compose/shoot an image? I do have difficulty, though, taking credit for "happy accidents" - in other words, shooting something and waiting to see the final results to decide "I really like this image" - even if it requires additional cropping. (I hope I'm not offending you - if this is at all what you were referring to). I have taken several photos and looked at the final result in print - and made improvements with cropping - and get entirely ticked at myself for not seeing the image when I was there...wasted resolution, you know? (As a side note - I am my own worst critic - I have NEVER taken "The Perfect Shot" - there's always some post-shoot "improvements" I always come up with....and I honestly believe that any photographer worth his salt would say the same. The kick is to recognize the flaws and avoid them the next time!)

No offense taken- it's just I have found when I think I have the subject perfectly framed I find out later I cut off part of it -so I do try to leave a border around my image while shooting- (distance tween viewfinder & lens?) I guess that would be considered "a rule"

Fantastic image Marc waterfalls are on my list of thinks to shoot we just don't have many around here, well none that I can find. Composition is always a tricky thing and while there are some well know rules breaking them works in some cases so I've concluded there are no rules just pictures that work and them that don't I know this is no help at all if you are looking for the rules of composition so here are a few examples Rule of thirds split the image into three in both directions position your subject on the crossover of the dividing lines. Diagonals compose your subject so its diagonal across the picture Horizons never on the centre of the image Always use odd numbers of repeated components in pictures. I am sure there are others but as I said breaking these rules works too so Im more confused than I started better go before I dig a deeper hole. :O)

Marc a small comment about your picture, I think it would be better with a crop from the top the hard black area is really competing with the soft light in the rest of the picture. what do you think? :O)

Ahh - and let's not forget the "open" composition vs. the 'closed" composition - the open leaves a bit of the subject off frame making the viewer wonder what lies betond (great for those shots that you want to convey the felling of "never-ending" - whereas closed compositions encompass(sp) the entire concept of the photographer (as in, this is what it is - take it or leave it)

Rule of thirds - great starting point. I've seen too many landscapes with the horizon right down the center. Some people will say "I did that because it's an interesting sky" - and try to incorporate a barn or something meant to be the subject of the photograph. My opinion - decide what's the subject of your photo - interesting sky or barn...? - trying to incorporate the both disorients the viewer....("Great shot of a cloud formation....or is it a barn...?)

Photos need (in my opinion) to have a single, easily defined subject - with some supporting elements, but not so strong as to compete for attention)

(Keep in mind - these are strictly MY OPINIONS - not by any means to be considered statements of FACT)

mysnapz:

Point well taken. In the actual slide, there is a bit of detail which gives the falls a bit of "history" which was not captured by my scanner - but I can see your point. The shot does look a bit like a "studio" shot with that dead black area on top, and some of that could be cropped (a bit - too much to me would crowd the beginning of the falls)
I do appreciate the comments. (that's what I was hoping to gain from this forum!)

No problem Marc, Hope it helps. So back to the subject I am slowly getting the idea that there might just be a composition rule to explain every picture composition LOL. Nice approach Alpha, I must agree, when something of interest catches my eye I explore with my lenses and the camera angle before I take my pictures, but I will always take a number of shots never just the one. I like your comment about capturing the atmosphere of a shot, This I find a lot harder and very often am disappointed that I cannot capture the sounds and the smell of a subject I like your pond picture you have really got the stillness of the water, The more I look into it, The more I get spooked by the remoteness of the place. :O)

"I don't know what art is, but I know what I like." It is so very culturally dependent. I find that I like, quite a lot, African music, which follows entirely different rules from Western. I can appreciate Indian. I do not much like Japanese or Chinese music, though the graphic arts are wonderful --with far different rules. The composition of a photograph is such a right-brain activity, I'm not sure I verbalize it while making the image. Only after the fact can I analyze, and maybe say, "Oh, ya, I used this leading line to emplasize the subject." This does NOT say that composition rules are not important. I advise any photographer to live in art museums and surrounded by books. Then make your own rules.