Monday, February 24, 2014

The Rules of Scrapbooking

First rule of scrapbooking: there are no rules. Second rule of scrapbooking: if online resources say rules exist, refer to the first rule. Third rule of scrapbooking: if you think rules should exist, they’re your own. 

Arguably the best thing about scrapbooking is that it doesn’t recognize any universal set of rules in making one. Should there be rules in online resources, they usually aren’t as widely-accepted as you think. Scrapbooking is one of the few aspects of life where you get the chance to go crazy and design your scrapbook the way you want and you won’t be judged for that freedom. 

Even known rules such as the Rule of Thirds, a common principle in photography, aren’t always applicable. As with photography, the Rule of Thirds in scrapbooking positions the focal point at the intersections of a 3x3 imaginary grid. In other words, the focal point is located anywhere but the center of the page. 

However—surprise, surprise—there are instances when you can forgo the Rule of Thirds, even in scrapbooking. For example, if you want a page in your scrapbook to be symmetrical in theme, ditch the Rule of Thirds. In addition, the Rule of Thirds doesn’t always guarantee great pages or photos; sometimes, breaking this principle creates interesting outputs. 

So the next time you ask whether or not scrapbooking has rules to follow, remember the three rules earlier. Your scrapbook, your rules.

No comments:

Post a Comment