The Rule of Thirds in PhotographyPerhaps the most searched for rule regarding composition is the search for the rule of thirds in photography. It is very commonly used in landscape photography and perhaps not used as frequently in portrait photography. The three photos above show how the use of the rule of thirds in photography can be used to improve composition. Photo 1 shows a classic photo mistake in composition. I divided the photograph in half by having the horizon go right through the middle of my picture. Photo 2 is an improvement because I placed the horizon at one third spot in my camera's viewfinder. In the third photo I used 3 different leading lines to converge close to an intersection of a vertical and a horizontal 1/3 line. It's not an award winning photograph, just a good example of how to improve your photography by changing your composition.
It says you should divide your viewfinder into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. You are dividing the picture in thirds, side to side, and top to bottom. Those imaginary lines intersect at 4 points in your field of view. As you look through your camera viewfinder or at the screen on the back of your camera or camera phone, points of interest in your photograph should be placed at or close to the intersection of the lines, shown by the circles in the illustration.
Here is the resulting nature photo with good composition. I made about 100 exposures over a two hour period. Many of the photos were similar. I shoot different angles of the same scene, using different zoom amounts and different distances from my subject. This gives several different photo perspectives. After a shoot with so many images, the fun begins when I do all of my photo editing. In the self portrait below, I used three photo composition rules. Photo 1 shows how an amateur photographer might take the picture. In photo 2, I used the rule of thirds and placed my head at one of those imaginary intersections of those vertical and horizontal composition lines. Secondly, I also changed to a better format by turning my digital camera to make it a vertical composition instead of a horizontal. Thirdly, I tilted my camera at an angle to create a diagonal line.
Photo 2 is not an award winning photo either, but you can see how much of a better photo it is. With learning just a few tips like the rule of thirds in photography and a bit of practice, you will become a better digital photographer. Sometimes it's a good thing to break the guidelines of good photo composition. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't work; but it's fun to experiment. The best way to learn is by making mistakes. With digital photography, if you don't like the result, you can either delete it or do some cropping of you image later to make it a better photograph. Dividing your photo by these imaginary lines is just one easy way to take better photographs and it's very easy to remember. Photo Composition Tips. The rule of thirds in photography is a great tip to use, but it is only one element. Here are nine more good photography composition tips. Composition in Photography. If you are interested in discovering how the use of balance and artistic patterns effect composition in photography, you will enjoy reading this. Final photo tip: Have fun while practicing your use of the rule of thirds and you'll catch on even quicker. Happy Shooting! Go back from Rule of Thirds in Photography to |
The rule of Thirds has been around for a long time. It's not just used as a guide in photography composition. This composition tip has been used in painting, art and design for a long time, perhaps since the time of the art created by the caveman. ;-) 
It was taken with my Canon 5D just after a snow storm. It was quite cold and I kept my camera inside the front of my jacket. Batteries lose their power quickly in cold weather. 