Odd Can Be Better

Grape Hyacinths
Frenchtown, Montana


I'm always looking for helpful suggestions to create more interesting compositions in my photographs. One of these suggestions is the Rule of Odds. This technique says that our brains are more intrigued by odd numbers of things in the frame than even numbers of items. Even numbers (2 or 4 or 6) are easy to group into pairs. Odd numbers (3 or 5 or 7) are harder to arrange and so engage our brains for a longer time. So whether you find a subject in an "odd" group, like these grape hyacinths growing in my backyard, or arrange the objects yourself, compose your next photo to include odd numbers of things for greater visual interest.

Expose yourself to more new photography ideas in Photography Challenge 4, starting September 8, 2021, in Missoula, Montana. This class meets every other week to give you more time to complete each challenge. Click here to attend in person or click here to attend online.