It Depends, by and used with permission of Philip Poon, many-time Alumnus

BCPA "Rules"

After participating in many workshops [at least 23] with Margo and Arnie, it’s struck me that learning how to make a great photograph is a little bit like being on Gibb’s NCIS team. There are rules to making a great photograph but you sort of learn them as you go along and in no particular order. So this is my attempt to create order out of chaos.

Rule #1 - IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT.

This is THE most important rule. Without this rule a photo would not exist. You need light.

How much light?
You need enough light. When you first look at your photo you may decide the subject calls for dim light to create a somber mood. So you darken the photo. Or you may want to bring out some details, so you lighten the photo. Or you may want to darken the light areas of your photo and lighten the dark areas. Or you may have a better image if you lighten the light areas and darken the dark areas...

IT DEPENDS.

When is the best light?

The best light is usually a little before the sun comes up and a little after the sun goes down. It’s also pretty good a little bit after the sun comes up and a little bit before the sun goes down.

You should never shoot in the middle of the day since the light is harsh and this is when you nap because you got up before the sun came up and stayed up way after the sun went down. Except when it’s cloudy because flowers will have beautiful colors under the diffuse midday light of a cloudy day. However, bright cloudless days also allow you to shoot harsh shadows which can often create interesting patterns and graphics.

You should always shoot towards the sun. This will create more interesting pictures because of the light and color reflections off of water or objects. This can be amazing. But sometimes the light will be amazing in the way it lights up a hillside behind you so it always pays to look behind you and shoot away from the light...

IT DEPENDS.

Should I shoot color or black and white?...

IT DEPENDS.

Rule #2 - ALWAYS CROP IN CAMERA.

You should always do border patrol. In addition to looking at your main subject (hero) and composing the hero in the frame, you need to make sure the hero is isolated or separated from surrounding elements in the photo. No trees coming out of the rock. No other flowers directly in front of or behind your main subject. No "uninvited guests" sneaking into the edges of your photo.

But sometimes that image was a one shot. Time or place did not allow for in-camera cropping. How do you crop?

Ideally you crop in from one side (top, bottom, left or right) to create a better composition. Although sometimes the image is better if you crop the top and the bottom to create a pano. Or you might crop from the sides and create a square for Instagram. Sometimes you need to crop from the bottom and a side. Or the top and a side...

IT DEPENDS.

Then sometimes there’s a tree or a rock at the edge of your photo that’s partially cut off. The photo might be stronger if you crop the image to remove the rock completely. It could also look even better if you just removed a portion of the rock. Or perhaps the rock is interesting enough that you don’t need to see the whole rock, so you leave it alone...

IT DEPENDS.

Rule #3 - ALWAYS USE A TRIPOD

A stable platform is very important to get nice sharp images, and to obtain this you should always use the best tripod you can afford. Unless you have a lens with good image stabilization. Or a rock to lean against. Or something stable to place your camera on...

IT .

Rule #4

Follow the basic rules of composition when placing the main subject in your image. The rule of thirds, never put the horizon in the middle of your image. Certainly you don’t want to perfectly center your “hero”. But perhaps you’re shooting a reflection and the symmetry calls for a perfectly centered horizon line, although that can confuse your viewer's eye as to what the real hero is. Or that perfectly centered “hero” has enough inherent asymmetry that it looks perfect in the middle of the frame...

IT DEPENDS!