I never thought about it at all! I put my photos where they seem to look the best to me, and probably am using the 3rds type of rule without really actually using it.
I have a problem with cutting things off on the edges! I feel compelled to resize or move until it "feels comfortable."
I don't really have any rules but I think I have some things I tend to stick to. Things I almost always have on my page: journaling title date buttons paint/sequins/scatters in the background I do like the colors of the kit to go with my photos somehow. I actually tend to look at the colors more than the theme of the kit when choosing what to scrap with.
I love watching Missy's videos! I don't always have my photo subject looking in toward the center of the layout. Sometimes I do have them facing the edge of the page. For instance, in this recent page I scrapped, the bottom of the smaller photos at the top aren't following the rule to face the interior of the page. I guess if you get really technical, she's looking DOWN and not OFF the page. And another one where she was blowing out candles OFF the page: But then this one DOES follow the rule, and I'm facing up and inward toward the center of the layout: I generally follow the rule of thirds. I don't shadow fonts or place them above dimensional elements. If anything can be popped up with pop dots in a traditional scrapped page, then I can decide if I want that item to have a deeper shadow. For instance, a sticker placed on pop dots might be higher than a dimensional flower. I know there are a lot of things that I just DO without thinking about it. Ultimately, the page has to FEEL right and I don't know if that's a rule. LOL
I just go for it. I have never paid attention to the photo thing. I go by ‘feel’ if it feels right to me. I do shadow mostly at 45 degrees and am not one to use a title or alpha.
I almost always include a date - sometimes it is the date of the photo or event or sometimes it is the date of the journaling. I also like to include names. Someday, someone may be looking at photos and wonder who is who, so I like it on my page. I also really like to use fasteners for items so things don't look like they are floating in space. And it is really, really, really hard for me not to have something on the edges - either stitching or paint or tears or a little cluster hanging off the edge.
for me the shadows are the most important and the only rule - I use the 4 basic shadow types in each layout = paper shadows, shadows for elements that lie under the photo, shadows for all elements above the photo and a very high shadow for everything that "flies" above.
I don't think I really have any rules except do NOT add a shadow to a journaling font. Lol. I do also keep all my shadows at 45°. I really try to remember to add a date to every page as well... otherwise I just do what I like.
My favourite sort of scrapbooking page is a family history/genealogy LO, and I do have some rules when it comes to family history layouts. The fonts have to be period-appropriate; and so too do the patterned papers, and especially the florals. I am weirdly fussy about the florals. If they don't look like they might have been around at the time of my ancestor's prime, I'm just not going to use them. A groovy, 1960s ditsy daisy pattern for my grandmother, who was born in 1898? Nope. Even though I love that ditsy, daisy pattern: that's just inappropriate for my grandmother, it's not historically authentic, I'm just not going to use.
About the only rule I "follow to a t" is placing canvas lines on my blank canvas. Most of my layouts follow the rule of thirds and the canvas lines help me achieve that. And yes, I break that rule...with the help of the grid lines In that scenario, they help me stay centered I am a BIG fan of shadows - shallow, dark and sharp as well as deep, soft and very blurry (that floating look). Often, I will look at non-digital mixed media layouts before or during the creation of a heavily shadowed pieces. Being a photoshop user, the only limitation is my own imagination and willingness to experiment. But, the "real" pieces help me QC my brain and keep things with in "real." Here are two examples of non-digital mixed media layouts from Pinterest: Notice text over elements...yes, it is possible, generally "cut files" or word art. I love the super soft, floating shadows in this one. From time to time, I attempt to achieve this look. Its incredibly pretty to me. And, XOXO is onto top of elements, rather than being much further below. Here is an example of my own digital mixed media Awesome forum discussion! I enjoy reading about other's creative process and what works for them (or not).
@ArmyGrl On the "fonts don't float" or have shadows, I meant journaling, like you would type on your background paper, a journal card, or on word strips. Definitely cut files and heavier font pieces of word art (premade or made by the scrapper) can definitely hold their own with deep shadows. I love love love the examples you shared because they are perfect to show that "rules" are meant to be bent to our desires.
When I look at my first layouts, I cringe because of the shadowing since I knew nothing about it when I first started! Thankfully those layouts will not be seen by anyone but me. I knew the program, just not shadowing. I learned real fast. I do cringe when I see layouts now by others that have floating fonts. I do love seeing deep shadowing on some titles making them look like they've been adhered with pop dots. Especially if other elements are clustered within the title or nearby.
@HavaDrPepper It doesn't bother me if scrappers have floating fonts on their layouts, I just don't use them on my layouts. There are loads of pages I've made that I cringe at, and most of them have nothing to do with fonts. There was this phase I went through with blending and this particular layout is SUPER CREEPY. I don't even know what my floating head is supposed to mean when combined with the title? Just weird. LOL
I have this subconscious rule too, I think the first time it became something I was aware of I'd seen a page in a gallery long ago somewhere in digiland that had a button run off the page & my brain said 'if this were paper scrapping, I can't think of any compelling reason to physically cut a button in half so it would fit in the plastic page protector’ so I can't bring myself to to that digitally either. (lucky we can easily shrink the button to fit in digi!)
Fasteners must be one of the most underrated but significant elements in digi! I can safely say I've used more staples & stitching on my digi pages than I ever did in my paper days!
I always start with three photos. That does not mean that all my pages have three photos (some have more and some have less); however, I don't have a page theme until I have at least three photos. It may be that as I work on the page, the additional photos are too much and I take them out, but I always start with a minimum of three. I also try to always have the date and the people on it. My grandma and I used to go through her photo albums and she was sad by the number of faces that she could not remember their names. I don't want that to happen! I know there are people that were important once that drift out of our lives, so I want to always have at least a name that might trigger a memory for me.