The Rules Change | The Art Doesn't
As a photographer, I am always on the lookout for interesting vintage books, especially books about photography or collections of photographs. While wandering through an antique store recently, one small handbook caught my attention: Photography: The Amateur's Guide to Better Pictures, published in 1964.
The original cover price was $1.25. I happily paid $8.00 for it.
Curious, I picked it up and began flipping through its pages. Before long, I found myself smiling.
The first chapter, Making Better Pictures, opened with a list titled Keep These Rules In Mind. The advice wasn't wrong. It was simply a wonderful snapshot of amateur photography from 1964.
Three entries, in particular, made me laugh.
Be sure your camera is loaded.
Advance your film after each shot.
Keep your distance, not closer than 6 ft.
How things have changed.
Today we worry about battery life, memory cards, autofocus settings, and whether our camera firmware is up to date. Film advance levers have disappeared, and today's autofocus systems and lenses routinely lock onto subjects just inches away, while most cameras can capture dozens of images in seconds.
Yet despite all of those technological changes, this list is still worth reading. Some of its advice belongs to another time. Other parts are just as relevant today as they were in 1964.
Keep These Rules In Mind:
Be sure your camera is loaded.
Advance your film after each shot.
Hold your camera steady, or place it on a firm support.
Keep your distance, not closer than 6 ft.
Catch your subject when it isn't moving.
Shoot with the sun behind you.
For better portraits, shoot in the open shade.
We no longer worry about forgetting to load film, but forgetting a charged battery or a memory card can end a photo outing just as quickly. Image stabilization and autofocus have made photography easier, but they haven't eliminated the need for good technique. Even advice like photographing people in open shade continues to produce beautiful results more than sixty years later.
As I turned the page, I found another list. Unlike the first, this one didn't belong to another time. It felt timeless.
Picture Language:
Note: The following list has been lightly paraphrased for clarity and to reflect modern language while preserving the original intent.
A good picture has a subject. It has a reason for being.
A better picture always has a point. It has a story to tell.
A strong picture has unity. It is complete in both idea and presentation.
A compelling picture draws the viewer in. It leads the eye to what matters most.
What struck me was how relevant these ideas remain after more than sixty years.
Technology has transformed photography over the past six decades. Cameras have become smaller, smarter, and more capable than anyone in 1964 could have imagined. We have traded film for memory cards, manual focus for eye-tracking autofocus, and darkrooms for Lightroom.
Yet the fundamentals remain exactly the same.
Every successful photograph still needs a subject. It still needs a purpose. It still needs unity. And it still needs to guide the viewer's eye.
That's what I carried away from this vintage handbook. The technology has evolved beyond anything its authors could have imagined, but their thoughts on what makes a photograph meaningful have stood the test of time.
Perhaps that's the greatest lesson hidden inside this book. Every creative discipline experiences technological revolutions. Writers have moved from typewriters to computers. Musicians have traded tape for digital workstations. Artists now paint on tablets as easily as canvas.
Photography is no different. The tools evolve. The creative principles endure.
The rules change. The art doesn't.