Coming from a writing background (I have an MFA in Fiction Writing), I
find it is interesting to note the overlap and comparison of thinking
about composition of images and composition of prose. The common quote
"a picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind. Interestingly it is
said one of the 'rules' of photography is that images should tell a
story. If it is true, who should be more likely to have an interest in
photography than someone who has studied fiction writing...I find my
experiences with writing help me see my progress through photography
more clearly.

Writing At College
Taking writing courses was a confounding joy. I might be handed an
assignment to write a story, and might be inspired immediately to write
a poem. With the suggestion that I write a poem, I might be at no short
hand to write prose. Other students I know would claim to get the
much-romanced 'writer's block', often meaning they couldn't come up with
anything interesting to fulfill an assignment. While my reaction to
assignments may just have been some perverse part of my nature, the
imposed task would fill with obligation, rigidity and expectation...and
I could find respite in doing almost anything but the task at hand. I
enjoyed discovery and creativity; it was simply more fun to explore
writing to whatever end than to perform a task. The upshot of structured
courses was that while I was compelled to complete the necessary work to
conform to the expectations, I wrote probably twice as much unstructured
work in addition to the formal assignments. To stave off verbal
constipation, I made a habit of keeping a scratch book (and still do)
where I was free to experiment and explore words. In the abstract paths,
scraps, and unfinished pieces may not be my best work and material, and
much I've never shared or published, but some inevitably filtered back
into other finished work, and it is still where I do my most intense
learning.

And After College...
 Later, continuing down a lawless path, I taught college English for
several years, and tested ideas from my own learning, using my students
like guinea pigs. I tried to abandon rules entirely as part of the
curriculum -- rules, I reasoned, were something no one really cared for,
and college students should have had their fill by the time they met me
-- so I had my students exploring writing itself rather than tethering
them to the rule book. They wrote a lot, improved tremendously by
following their interests, and seemed to allow themselves to enjoy the
experience of writing which, in turn, helped them learn from it, often
coming in a back-handed way to the rules -- whether they recognized them
or not. 

Choosing Your Rules
The best of rules, when you know them, become simple, helpful guidelines
built on common sense: suggestions as to what will achieve success with
relative consistency. While anyone can resist rules, the essence of
rules can't totally be ignored. Rules of writing attach meaning to words
and without that reference writing would never convey an intended
meaning; likewise, you can't take a picture without light in the
absolute dark. Rules may not fit your perspective as you hear them, but
they may have other meanings, and more fitting, creative, and personally
meaningful interpretations. For example, the rule of thirds really says
to me: "don't be boring", which can lead to a lot more than 4 suggested
options. There are all sorts of writings, just like there are all sorts
of photos. Some photos might tell a story, and might seem more like a
poem, a story, or even a novel -- and some may only be meant to be
snippets, scraps, experiments, and vehicles for learning. If you
following the rule that each shot needs to be a story as an imperative,
you may hold yourself back from capturing some less structured frames,
experimenting and exploring possibilities, and learning from and
enjoying your time taking pictures. In other words, you will do well to
follow the rule of trying to tell stories with your images -- so long as
it doesn't oblige you to try and squeeze impossible imagery from an
inappropriate scene when you might, instead, happily snap the shutter to
learn some nuance about light, shadow, shutter speed, or color that may
later help you 'tell a story' in better conditions.

Practicing Lawless Photography
At times, when you are frozen, looking for the ultimate shot in a
dramatic scene that is being elusive, it may help to put the rules out
of your head a moment and just look through the viewfinder. Snap off
some frames without expectations, move in and away, tilt the camera,
shoot portrait and landscape, change your lens...Think of as many rules
as you can while doing it, and break every one -- for a reason if you
can think of one, or just because. After you shoot a series, view the
results to see if anything you shot suggests a direction, and then use
that suggestion and refine the result. You can always use rules first if
you feel naked -- or you may find you follow them more naturally as you
shoot view and refine.

For more information about Adobe Photoshop
<http://www.aps8.com/pscs3.html> and Photoshop Elements
<http://www.aps8.com/elements5.html> , visit http://hiddenelements.com
<http://hiddenelements.com> and http://photoshopcs.com
<http://photoshopcs.com>



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