This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (14-20 Nov ‘10)

Last week we did an assignment based on the rule of thirds. This week, your challenge was to Break the Rule of Thirds in a way that creates an interesting composition and an interesting picture. This assignment actually showed how difficult it is to break this rule in an effective way while still making sure that you create an interesting photo. Our winner this week was RLucas’s “Emily”. This portrait worked well using a centred composition. It was a moody portrait and you were really drawn into it. Our first runner up was Reference Point’s Speaker Circle. If there’s one place where centred composition works well, it’s when you’re shooting circles as this shot demonstrated. It definitely really had a very graphical feel to it, and it worked well. Our final runner up was belladoja’s “Lime”. This one had a really creative setup to it, and it uses the centred composition to it’s benefit. You can’t help but wonder what you’re seeing in the middle of the lime. Well done everyone!

We started another composition-based assignment this week with our Fill the Frame assignment. If you want to fill the frame, more often than not you have to get closer. But by filling the frame you also get to get rid of superfluous backgrounds and other distractions to really make the subject stand out. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 10-24 November 2010. Second, your post in the Fill the Frame thread must include the words “Assignment: Fill the Frame” and the date the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include the main points like camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. Next week we have one more composition assignment for you, and that is Repetition and Patterns. With a little looking you can find this anywhere, in nature or in man made objects, the the trick is to use the patterns to make the shot interesting to your viewers.

Do You Ever Lose You Drive to Take Pictures: It probably happens to all of us. You’re going along fine, and all of a sudden you barely want to pick up your camera any more. But it feels like you’re the only one going through that. But you’re not alone. If you’ve been there, head over to the forums and share your experience. If you’re going through it now, you might find something of use in the thread.FIlms with Good Cinematography?: If you are struggling to get your drive back, one of the places you can look for inspiration is movies. Especially movies with good cinematography. So come share your favourites and find out some of the favourites of other people. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a gem.How Do You Learn Photography?: This question really focuses on how you learn and how people in our forums prefer to learn. Do you prefer to learn by seeing? By doing? By going to a group? By reading a manual? Come share what works best for you when you’re trying to learn photography.Client Asking for Unedited Images: Here’s one for those of you out there who sell your photos to clients. What do you do if they ask you for unedited images? And how do you phrase your response? If you’ve ever faced this, come check out the thread in the forum.Snapshot vs Portrait: I’m sure you’ve heard both of these terms, but there can be a little bit of confusing about what separates one from the other. What makes a snapshot a portrait? Can you have candid portraits? Are the terms separate or are they the same? Come share your thoughts over in the forums.

Nicole is a DPS Forum moderator and keen photographer from New Zealand. See her blog and Flickr account.

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