Most of what I know of Photography I've learned listening to you. Even
I
know those poles should be vertical, not slanted. You told Ozzy to
level
his Camera. Why in the hell don't you practise what you preach?


Ozzy's shot is a scenic, in spite of what he'd "like" to call it. Even
with a false horizon, you should level off for those. Best example
would be a group of people on the beach with visible ocean and horizon.

But for a shot of a child, the rule is often broken with nice results.
This little girl was repeatedly dangling from the green rail and I
leveled for her and not the playset. This is effective composition. If
she was "swinging" I would have leveled off the playset to build on
that aspect of the scene. Static portrait composition does not always
require leveling off, as in the hard angles I employ shooting down on
Thomas. And sometimes, especially with child portraits, you simply take
what comes and shoot fast, then level it in post.
Subtle errors are often a result of the subject leaning, as seen here.
In spite of framing with grid lines, Thom's movement still threw me off
slightly. It's fixable, but I'm otherwise happy with the shot.

http://members.aol.com/bobsprit/images/firemanweby.jpg

RB
35s5
NY