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Many books talk about ‘rules of composition’, especially the notorious ‘Rule of Thirds’. However, in practice, many of the images presented as examples of that rule follow it loosely, if at all. These so-called rules aren’t as simple as they seem. Our experience strongly suggests that they aren’t that useful either, especially with no clear ‘subject’ to latch on to (many writers also refer to ‘the point of interest’, whatever that is). It seems like more than mere coincidence that ‘Rule of Thirds’ generates the acronym ROT.

It’s pretty hard to think about ‘rules’ and at the same time stay focused on the feeling and emotion of the moment – many of the greatest photos ever made don’t conform to any known rule, and neither does landscape itself.

Bending over backwards to be fair, some people do seem to find such rules helpful. Knowing what they are and trying them out from time to time can do no harm. But don’t think of them as rules, and definitely not as laws. A picture is good because it expresses the experience you had in the outdoors, not because it conforms to the rules. Think of these, at best, as suggestions which might sometimes be useful: and beware the short-cut that turns out to be a dead end.