The Photography Rule You Should Only Half Stick To

If there's any photography lesson that makes complete sense when you hear it, it's probably "get it right in camera".

Because we all know that trying to ‘save’ a photo in the edit ends up sh*t anyway.

So if all of that is true, why would I say to only half stick to that rule?

Well the answer is that it only really applies to the technical act of taking a photo. We’re talking exposure, focus, all that sciencey jazz.

Creatively and composition wise though, "getting things right" may even be counter-productive in the long run for these reasons:

You might be wrong.

When doing something like street photography, chances are most of your shots will be taken in the moment with little preparation. Therefore getting things generally in the right ballpark is the aim, with the fine tuning happening to come in the edit when you have as much time as you need.

The final format.

It's all very well and good getting things right on your camera's 2x3 screen, until you go to share your photos on Instagram and realise a 3x4 or 4x5 crop cuts out key elements of your image.

Give the shot some breathing room and thank me later.

The power of cropping.

I'll embarrassingly admit, I was scared of cropping my photos for years - thinking that it’d kill the quality.

Turns out though that your $1000+ camera is actually pretty powerful.

In fact your final photos can end up looking way more interesting (and different) than the raw files you pulled them from. Here are two examples:

Zoom way in on smaller details to add context and variety to a photo.

Or spin your photo at a crazy angle to add even more chaos to an action shot.

So if there's anything to be learned this week, just give both yourself and your photos a chance to breathe.

It'll make the shooting process a lot more comfortable, and your photos will probably reflect that.