Technique – The Rule Of Thirds.

I have decided to start writing some technique articles on here and hope to feature some key elements about photography as I learn about them too. Hopefully for the things that I am learning the fairly new perspective I have on it will help people understand things too, or I may just even just reach audiences who haven’t heard of these things before. 

What is the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a photographic composition ’rule’ that originates from the landscape painting arty people of the 1700’s (I do my research). It is one of the most useful tips I have picked up for composition and this is why I have used it as the first technique article on the blog.

In it’s simplest form is a three by three grid over your image, due to some mathematical wizardry and the general preference of people for this type of composition, this technique seems focus peoples attention to certain parts of your images giving them more ‘impact’.

The lines identify the areas where interest in the photo should be.

 

Importantly where these lines cross provide a great marker for where a point of key interest should be.

 

In the Photo above you can see that the post the bird is sitting on (a secondary subject) is along the line while the bird’s eye (primary subject) is at one of the cross-overs.

Application 

The rule of thirds importance is known by camera manufacturers so is quite often included as a built in function of the camera. That three by three grid that people always wonder what it is for on their camera phone, the image overlay on a lot of compact camera’s and the icon’s in the view finder of higher end cameras. All are designed to help you to get better photos. 

Important

It is also crucial to remember the the ‘rule’ is not a rule at all, more of a guideline. Great images can and have been produced with other compositional techniques the thirds are by no means a be all end all. Ultimately it is down to personal preference and being happy with your images.  

Learn more about the rule of thirds Digital Camera magazine article.

Discover more about composition at this article about Leading the eye on photodoto.

Sim.