Rule of Thirds in Photography

Posted on | August 11, 2009 | No Comments

As you are interested in photography, then you must have heard about the Rule of Thirds. It is based upon the common belief that the eyes first look at the sides of a photograph, not at its center . The rule’s job is to put emphasis on the parts of the photo which will first grab the attention of the eye.

The reason why this rule is very well known is that it is pretty easy to apply. All you need is just to know how you should frame your subject.

Imagine that your photograph will be divided into three horizontal and three vertical parts. This is done by putting four lines (two horizontal and two vertical) each at one third of the photograph, hence the name of the rule. Thus, we will have four intersection points, each of which is a hot-spot for framing the subjects . In general, the lines together with the intersection points should be used to align the main subjects of your photos so as to have one that complies with the Rule of Thirds.

Photographing at close range will yield a subject that is too big to be framed as a whole. Instead of aligning the subject itself, interesting parts within it are the ones that should be aligned. In case of facial portraits, for example, the face usually covers most, if not all, of the viewfinder leaving the facial features to be aligned. Most photographers align the eyes to the first horizontal line from top. This is mainly because eyes are the most important feature of the face, and that by doing so, the rest of the facial features will be well placed inside the photo too.

The Rule of Thirds is commonly used in landscape photography as well. A lone subject in the foreground (a tree for example) is a perfect candidate to be aligned to one of the vertical lines. As for the background, horizons are usually aligned to one of the horizontal lines. A landscape scene may contain fields, mountain or clouds. In this case, a more general approach is recommended in which the different parts of the scene are considered as layers to be separated in the different sections (thirds) of the photograph.

Despite being important to the composition, some flexibility should exist when applying this rule. There are some instances where the perfect alignment should be sacrificed for a better overall composition, such as when some important details are missing just outside the frame. Another example is when trying to create the mirroring effect using reflections. Here, the mirror line (the line separating the reflection from the real) is usually aligned at the middle.

In general, this rule is a main element of good composition. By using it, you will be able to produce photos that are very appealing to the eyes.

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