I meant to do that!

I ran across a great blog entry by one of Baltimore Maryland's premier children photographers, Blair Blanks, that I thought was very well written and to the point. As a photographer my portraits are my art and in the creation of art there are rules that we implement to make our "art" more appealing and "artistic". Blair describes a few of these "rules" and the reason why we use them. I have added a few of my own "rules" that I use quite often and wanted to share this with you.

1. “Tight Crops” – This means super close close-ups where often the face fills most of the frame of the image. These images are about the eyes, and often the top of the head is not included in the image. I meant to do that!
2. “Selective focus”- This technique draws your eye to what the photographer or artist wants you to see. Everything else is blurry and I meant to do that!

3. “Rule of Thirds”- The most boring position for a subject in a photograph is smack dab in the middle! I know, I know, not what you always thought, right? Trust me! There is a little something in design called the Rule of Thirds that we photographers often employ to enhance visual interest.
The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines (like a tic-tac-toe board). The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. Aligning a photograph with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the feature would.
Huh? Trust me, your child does not need to be right in the center of an image for it to be a good portrait! I meant to do that!

4. “Not-So-Smiley”- So many of us have been brought up to believe that a smile is a requirement to make a great photo. So not true! I love a pensive look as much as a big grin. I meant to do that!

5.“Let’s Be Negative” – Negative space is when the subject is placed off to the side of an image and the rest of the image is empty—this is done for artistic impact. I meant to do that!

6. “Bokeh” -A photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field derived from the Japanese word "boke ぼけ become blurred or fuzzy". Different lens produce different bokeh, which is often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject. Guess what? I mean to do that.

7. “The Light in the Eyes” The hallmark of good portrait photography is good lighting, and the hallmark of good lighting is something called a “catchlight,” – a reflection of light in the eyes. I love big catchlights! I purposely position my lights for the best and largest catchlights, especially for close-ups. Flip through any parenting or glamour magazine and look at the eyes—what do you see? Big bright catchlights! A lack of catchlights leaves the eyes looking flat, dull and lifeless. I meant to do that!