Photography School 101

Remember this photo? The one that followed the Rule of Thirds?

I've got a confession to make about it. That day was not a planned "lets take portraits" day. What that means is that the boys dressed themselves in whatever the heck they thought was good that day (i.e., printed shirts). So I'll share a trick that I learned a few years back when inspiration struck.

Turn their shirts around.

The solid colored tees make a much better photo than shirts with distracting designs on the front. While I knew this worked to make the picture look better, I didn't know that it would tickle the boys' funny bones. I got some good smiles before the fun faded. Bonus. (This shot was post-hilarity. But still good.)

And the photo in my header? Same thing. It works wonders, this trick does.

I wonder how this would work in a large group setting, like the entire extended family at a holiday gathering? Heh.