Rule of Thirds

My sister and I want to learn more about photography and thought a fun way to learn is to have a weekly challenge. We started with composition. This week the challenge is focused on one of the most commonly known compositions - the rule of thirds.

You add dramatic interest by using the rule of thirds. The easiest way to follow this rule is just don't put the neat stuff in the center of the frame.
Like with this picture. It just wouldn't have the same visual effect with the girl in the center.


When you take your pictures imagine a grid with 2 lines vertical and 2 lines horizontal cutting the veiw into 3rds, creating a grid like this.



With this grid in mind the rule of thirds now identifies four sweet spots of the image. You should consider placing points of interest in these spots as you frame your image. It also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.

In this photo I have the hands in one of the sweet spots because I wanted the emphasis on the hands and not the child's face.



The theory is if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot - using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.

Keep the rule of thirds in mind as you edit your photos. Photo editing software has good tools for cropping images so that they fit within the rules. Experiment with some of your old shots to see what impact it might have on your photos.