The 2 Step Rule

Florence, Italy, originally uploaded by FormanPhoto.

I recently took a class on giving presentations, and had to come up with a 15 minute slide deck. To a group of about 8 peers at work, I presented '5 Tips to Better Photos'. One of those tips was the old 2-step rule... if a picture doesn't feel right, try taking 2 steps to the left or right and see if it improves!

Having forgotten my own rule, I was getting frustrated on a recent short trip to Italy. I stood there composing an 'okay' photo of the countryside when one of my co-workers walked past me and said "Hey, I'm trying this new 2-step rule I just learned about". Stuck between feelings of pride and embarrassment, I proceeded to do the same thing. And kept doing it for the duration of the trip.

For this photo, I initially stood in the middle of the hallway and composed the old standby with walls disappearing into the center distance. But with a bare wall (and a few doors) on the right, I knew it could be better. Taking a few steps to the right, it completely opened up the photo and gave new importance to the columns on the left. I still think I can improve it in Photoshop, and may yet do so with an improved crop, but it still gives a fine sense of depth to the marble floored walkway of this Italian government building in Florence. Having a wall to prop against (without a tripod) was an additional benefit for the long exposure that was required.

Thanks Chris for the simple yet powerful reminder that many times we know the fixes to our own problems, we just need to open ourselves up to them.