Photography Lessons: The Rule of Thirdsby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 15 Oct 2007 10:50 PM I've touched on the topic of composition in previous blogs, but I've never gone in depth about the "Rule of Thirds." It was one of the first lessons I learned during my college photography class and one that I have continued to apply to improve my shots over the years. The act of composing a shot boils down to focusing your attention on the subject and its surroundings in the viewfinder. Basically, you want to pay attention to how you set up your shot before snapping your picture. If you are shooting with a digital camera you have the advantage of viewing your shot immediately on the camera's LCD screen. If you don't like what you see you can reshoot. Getting back to the Rule of Thirds. My college photography professor was big on this rule, which suggests that the image you see in your viewfinder should be divided equally into three imaginary horizontal sections and three vertical sections. For example, if you are taking a scenic shot, you don't want the horizon directly in the middle of the picture. Rather, two-thirds of the picture should show the sky (if there is something noteworthy in it e.g. lightning or a flock of birds) or two-thirds landscape, seascape or cityscape with one-third sky. The object is to make your pictures more interesting. Scenic shots with the horizon smack in the middle of the frame are boring. The same rule applies when you are shooting a subject and you place it in the middle of the shot. To illustrate this point my professor used a shot of a Maine lighthouse. If you place the lighthouse in the middle of the shot, the image is very static and rather uninteresting. However, if you were to move the lighthouse to one of one-third or two-thirds location on the imaginary grid, the end result becomes more dramatic. Your viewer's eyes will be forced to travel back and forth between the open expanse of sea and the lighthouse on one side of the photo. The Rule of Thirds has served me well during my photographic adventures. The challenge is remembering to employ it in the heat of the moment (like when you have four seconds to take a shot of your 3-year-old as she prances by on the back of a pony). To see how the professionals employ this rule, flip through books featuring prize-winning shots and marvel at how a few seconds of work can pay off big time. Related Articles: More Common Sense Tips To Capturing A Frame-Worthy Picture Common Sense Tips To Capturing Frame-Worthy Pictures Snapping Frameworthy Shots Of Your Kids More Tips On Photographing Newborn Babies
Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantphotography tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags framing, photography, picture tips, photo tips, taking pictures Discuss this article
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