Photo Assignment 4: Shoot a photo demonstrating your understanding of the rule-of-thirds while utilizing a clean foreground and a clean background

Boxing coach Angel stands inside the Self-Made Training Facility, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, at 5 p.m., in the Design District of Dallas, Texas. The photo was taken for a rule-of-thirds photography project, capturing Coach Angel slightly off-center with a clean foreground and background to emphasize composition and focus. (Photo by Johnny Crowley)

I shot my boxing coach, Coach Angel, at the Self-Made Training Facility in the Design District of Dallas for this photo project. I shot it around 5 p.m. last Monday. I was trying to show that I understood the rule of thirds, and I wanted to capture him in a manner that would appear clean and natural in the gym.

The most difficult part for me was working with the lighting. The gym doesn't have many windows, so there wasn't much natural light available. There were a few areas that were too dark and others where there were odd shadows from the overhead lights. I did end up having to move a number of times to find an angle that was still visually appealing and allowed Coach Angel's face to be seen.

Once I nailed the lighting, the rest was pretty straightforward. I framed him slightly off-center to align with the rule of thirds and made sure the background wasn't busy. The gym is usually full of weights and equipment, so achieving a clean background took some patience.

After I had shot the picture, I did some minimal adjustments on my computer. I cropped it a bit to center things and balance the photograph. These adjustments brought the picture up to assignment standards.

In the end, I was happy with the result. Though the lighting was difficult, I think the photo captured who Coach Angel is—intense, confident, and in his own world. The rule of thirds made the photo look even more professional, and I learned how much of a difference small things like lighting and framing can make.