I took this photo last summer in Guaimaca, Honduras while serving with a team from Bolingbroke, GA at an orphanage. I loved the contrast of the primary colors in his shirt with his drab surroundings. I submitted it in an MGCC contest this year and it ended up winning 3rd place in the 2010 Digital Photo of the Year contest.
This photo very obviously executes the “rule of thirds“. That method of framing an image has been around forever, well since 1797 at least, and for good reason. In fact, the judge’s comment pointed out exactly why that rule can be so effective:
“There’s a lot of story being told in this photo and it is well captured with the placement of the boy in the left 1/3 while allowing us to view his surroundings in the other 2/3s.“
If you are used to just holding up the camera and pressing the button, I encourage you to take a couple seconds to think about where your subject is in the frame and how it relates to its surroundings.
Amazing photos. I especially treasure the ones you made of the kids in Honduras. My husband and I adopted 3 boys from the orphanage and love all those kids. I saw many familiar faces. Hope you left there feeling God’s presence.