Putting Your Photos on the Line

So, let's do a little something to help you take better pics, even with your cell phone.
The old master painters knew something about how to frame a shot.  I don't know how they figured it out, but they came up with something called the "Rule of Thirds."  They used it for portraits, landscapes, everything.
Here's a Rembrandt portrait.

If you look at it, you'll notice that nothing important is directly in the center.  The two key things, the faces, are near what we call the "third lines."  Here's the same painting with lines dividing it into vertical and horizontal thirds.

Somehow, the old dudes knew that the center of the frame is the last place the human eye looks to.  They learned to place important stuff at least on the lines and, hopefully, where two lines connect.  Because those four spots are the most interesting to the human eye.

Here's a shot from downtown Dallas I took a couple of years ago, with lines already added in.

But wait, you say, the horse is in the center.  Yes, it is.  But it's so dramatically framed by the building's architecture on the third lines that it works.

Most cameras today have a setting where you can see the third lines in your viewfinder when you take the shot.

Start thinking about putting stuff "on the line."  Your photos will improve dramatically.

Welcome to Mark Oristano Photography

And welcome to our newly redesigned website.  Hoping it will make it easier for all concerned to find what you're looking for when it comes to the best in portrait photography in Dallas-Fort Worth.
We're going to attempt to do several things here.
1)  Keep you up to date on what's going on with our portrait business and advise you of specials, etc.
2)  Help you become a better photographer in your own time.  Because after all, if you have a phone, you're a photographer, right?  And the laws of photography even apply when you take photos with your cell phone.
3)  Have some fun looking at photos we've taken around the world, and in the past.  And sometimes, putting up photos others have taken of us.  Here's a great way to start off a new blog about my photo business... a photograph of me, John Rainone (Chico) and Doug Jackson (Harpo) for our 1986 production of ANIMAL CRACKERS.  This photo was taken by the excellent Dallas photographer Steve Riley.
And if you don't know who the Marx Brothers are, Google them, and then download one of their movies.