Ab-Titchaz
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 30, 2008
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Photographer Gary Hershorn photographed the moon rising over Manhattan in New York as seen from Jersey City.
By Darren Rowse
Perhaps the most well know principle of photographic composition is the Rule of Thirds.
The Rule of Thirds one of the first things that budding digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.
I will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesnt mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective!
What is the Rule of Thirds?
The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As followsThe theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that peoples 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.
In addition to the above picture of the bee where the bees eye becomes the point of focus here are some of examples:
In this image Ive purposely placed the head of my subject on one of the intersecting points especially his eyes which are a natural point of focus for a portrait. His tie and flower also take up a secondary point of interest.
In this shot Ive placed the subject along a whole line which means she is considerably off center and therefore creating an additional point of interest. Placing her right in the center of the frame could have resulted in an awkward shot.
Using the Rule of Thirds comes naturally to some photographers but for many of us takes a little time and practice for it to become second nature.
In learning how to use the rule of thirds (and then to break it) the most important questions to be asking of yourself are:
Once again remember that breaking the rule can result in some striking shots so once youve learnt it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.
- What are the points of interest in this shot?
- Where am I intentionally placing them?
Lastly keep the rule of thirds in mind as you edit your photos later on. Post production editing tools today have good tools for cropping and reframing 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.
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http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds