An Emotionally Touching Photo That Proves That In Photography, All Rules Can be Broken

While reading an article on the situation in Syria, I came across many heart-breaking photos, but this particular one was very painful indeed:

The shot is by Youseff Karwashan.

It shows an innocent boy clutching his toys amidst war-torn rubble and ruins and showcases the emotion of innocence in a very emphatic way.

But if you look at the shot technically, it doesn’t really follow any rules of composition.

For instance, if you have attended our basic workshop, you would have learned about the rule of thirds, which says that if we have a shot with a fair amount of negative space, we should put the subject in one of the extreme thirds of the frame.

But this particular shot is not really following that as the subject is central, even though the negative space is not symmetrical.

But does it matter? Absolutely not.

And that’s the beauty of photography.

That you can break all the rules and still end up with a stunning and soulful shot.

So next time you find yourself feeling bogged down because of all the technical stuff and all the rules, just relax, take a deep breath and tell yourself that what is more important than following rules is to capture a particular emotion and convey a message.

Because this is where the true essence of photography lies.

Hope you liked this tip.