Portrait photographer James Allen Stewart wants to show you how to break the old rules of composition⊠with some new rules. In a recent video, he introduces two of his own rules that have helped him compose more interesting, dynamic images.
Click play below to see Stewart (and his pug) go through both of the rules, and then keep on scrolling to see some example images and read about each rule individually.
Rule 1: Balance the Darks and the Lights
Itâs important to strike a balance between the dark and light parts of your image, even if this pulls you away from traditional compositions like the Rule of Thirds. Darks, Stewart maintains, are compositionally âheavyâ and draw your eye; lights, on the other hand, are much lighter and donât pull your attention as strongly. Use this relationship to strike a balance that will lead your subjectâs eye to the imageâs focal point.
For example, this crop is rule of thirds balanced:
While this one is balanced using the darkness and light rule:
The focal point of the image is her eye, but the rule of thirds does a poor job drawing your focus there because of the dark patch in her swirling hair. The wider crop uses the dark background to balance the image and leave no doubt where the viewerâs eye should land.
Rule 2: âReadâ Your Photo from Left to Right
Most languages are written from left to right, and Stewart argues that your images should be âwrittenâ in the same way. Read the story of your photo from left to right, and see if it makes sense.
Is it intriguing? Does it have a climax? Does it get to the focal point too soon and then drop off uncomfortably into nothing?
In one example Stewart uses, his image originally looked like this:
The storyâat least to Stewartâis okay but it reaches its climax (the subjectâs face) too quickly and then drops off. By simply flipping the image, it takes on a new life as itâs read from left to right:
As with any composition ârulesâ these are not hard and fast, but they offer an interesting alternative to the standard compositions youâve probably become accustomed to seeing.
âOf course the new rules are just a way of seeing things with fresh eyes and maybe approaching your work more intuitively,â Stewart told us over email. âAs for myself, I know I can lack âthe sparkâ sometimes, and can use methods of composition that arenât just grids⊠it makes your creativity flow better.â
About the author: If you want to see more ofStewartâs work, visit his website, Instagram, Facebo