Peter Carroll’s photography blog

I like David duChemin’s approach to the so called Rule of Thirds. In his book Within the Frame, he says,”Rules seldom encourage the question ‘Why?’ Principles can’t live without the Why.” That’s the reason I too prefer to call this compositional tool  the Principle of Thirds.

When should you use the Principle of Thirds? Whenever using it better expresses your vision for a photograph. It all starts with vision. What do you want to say should always be your starting point. The follow on is – O.K. how am I going to say it?

Take a look at the photograph I took below. I both used and broke the Principle of Thirds in the same shot. What was my vision? My basic starting point was I wanted to photograph the Edmonton skyline. What did I want to say about it? Well, I love the fact that Edmonton is a small big city. It’s big enough to get great concerts, festivals and sports events but has a small enough population and big enough footprint that you have to really go looking for a traffic jam. Whenever I hear Edmontonians complaining about traffic my first question is where else have they lived. I also love the fact that due to it’s population and size, people here really support what’s going on in the community. Unlike bigger cities you won’t have a variety of pro sports games, festivals and conventions to choose from on any given weekend. There will be one major event like the Capital Ex, the Edmonton Indy, Heritage Days, the Fringe Festival or the Folk Fest for example and each event is well supported. Events aren’t in competition with one another.

So for my photograph I had the idea of “small big city” as my starting point. How was I going to say that? I decided to place the skyline low in the frame to symbolize the city’s relative population size and give a lot of weight to the big Alberta blue sky to symbolize the city’s space. Now let’s look at how all that relates to the Principle of Thirds. Obviously placing the skyline near the bottom edge of the frame breaks the Principle as the subject is entirely in the lower third. The Telus building, the tallest in the photograph, is close to the third line but it’s still below. The right edge of that same building, however, is right on the left vertical third line. I liked the way placing that building on the third gave the composition balance and anchored it in a way. So within the one photograph, the Principle is used for effect and broken for effect too. How you use it all depends on what you want to say. What do you want to say next time you look through the viewfinder?

Photography books are a dime a dozen. Well, actually no – they go for about $40 each but you know what I mean. There’s no shortage of authors selling “how to” roadmaps. Every now and then, however, an author comes along and writes a photography book which throws a bucket of cold water on the industry. David duChemin is just such an author and Within the Frame published by Peachpit is just such a book.

Depending where you are on your photo journey David’s message may be like a teaspoon of Buckley’s couch syrup. It will be hard to swallow but it will be good for you in the long run. David’s a straight shooter and that’s what I love most about Within the Frame. You want the truth? Are you ready for it? This photography thing is hard. Plain and simple. There are no shortcuts. It’s hard work. You can buy the latest camera but look all you want in the box it came in because I guarantee you that you won’t find a free pass to being a great photographer. As David says, “Gear is good. Vision is better”. Photography is all about vision and great photography is where craft and vision meet. Becoming a craftsman takes time. Check out an old blog post of mine about the 10,000 hour rule. Sorry to break this to you but there are no shortcuts. Shortcuts anyway are all about destination. Craft is all about the journey.

Joe McNally, who wrote the forward to the book, sums up Within the Frame nicely when he says, “David gives you the tools and information that enable you to make the camera - a machine – an extension of the human heart and mind. Then he gives you a road map…and invites you on the journey. It’s a trip well worth taking”.

Early on in my photo journey I came across a book that changed the way I look at the world around me. That book was Freeman Patterson’s Photography and the Art of Seeing. I can think of no higher praise for David duChemin’s book that to say it deserves its place on the bookshelf right beside the book that inspired me to be a photographer and to express my vision of the world around me within the frame.