The Rule Of Thirds - Better Photos... Now!

You've probably heard people talk about the "rule of thirds".  This basic idea of composition doesn't just apply to photography, but to all forms of visual art including cinema, drawing, painting and graphic design.  By understanding and applying this concept your images will become more powerful, engaging and interesting.

To quickly and easily see the idea behind the rule of thirds, take a look at this:

You'll notice that this rectangle is divided into three equal sections, both horizontally and vertically.  By placing your subject closer to the outer sections instead of in the center section, you create a more dynamic image that most people find more visually appealing.  If you put your subject on one of the points where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect, your image just becomes that much more powerful.

Don't believe me?  Take a look at some images, either online or in your immediate environment, and you'll notice that most of them follow the rule of thirds.  I'm sitting in a hotel room right now and every painting and photograph on the walls is composed with the rule of thirds.  Turn on your TV and you'll rarely see a person in the center of the screen.  Even local news broadcasts are composed according to the rule of thirds!

Of course, rules are meant to be broken and the rule of thirds is no different.  If you really want to call attention to your subject, placing it in the center of a photo can do the trick.  This typically works best when the background is clean and uncluttered so that all of the viewer's attention is drawn to your subject.

Many DSLRs have the option to turn on a "grid" in the viewfinder and a rule of thirds overlay is usually one of the options.  If you're just getting started using the rule of thirds, this is a great guide.  It's free and easy, so why not?  Plus, if there are any straight lines in your image, the guide can help you to keep them straight in your composition.

That's about all there is to the rule of thirds.  It's a very simple but very powerful tool that you can use anytime you take a photograph.  It doesn't matter what your subject is, what the lighting conditions are, what lens you're using or what camera you have.  You can always use the rule of thirds.  Enjoy!

You can see here my head is pretty much in the center of the frame.
This isn't the best composition for this photo.  I think I need
to work with Belinda on composition.  ;)

You can see here that Kevin's head is in the upper-third of the image.
This makes for a much more pleasing composition.

Again, Belinda's head is in the center of the frame but her eyes are in the upper-third of the image.

Here's a wedding photo with lots of negative space on the right side of the frame.  Notice that the upper-third contains

their heads and the left-third contains their bodies, taking advantage of the intersection of lines.

Read all of my DSLR tips here.