When you first start as a photographer, the photographs you are most proud of tend to be “happy accidents”.

Happy accidents are when you go to take a shot and it comes out perfectly… but not because you knew what you were doing.

As you grow in your photography, you should want less happy accidents. You should be shooting intentionally.

That said, its still nice when it occasionally happens. I was watching The Jak Locke Rock Show last Saturday. The lead singer and lead guitarist were jamming. I took several shots of this. They were moving very fast, so only a few of the shots worked.

Then I came upon this one. I had to look at it for a moment.

Many rules are being broken here. Jak Locke is barely in the frame. The lead guitarist is only partially in focus. The back-lighting is egregious.

On a surface level, this is a disaster!

But it tells a story.

First, you know exactly what is going on. The focus is entirely on Jak's guitar. The mic stand (which is always in the way of a great shot at one of these shows) serves as a dividing line and a framing device. And the back lighting is so washed-out that it simplifies the shot.

Photography has rules and you have to learn those rules. But you should never allow them to constrain you as an artist.

I love this shot. I wish I could say I planned it.