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The Rule of Thirds is a basic principle of photographic composition that divides an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically, creating nine equal parts. Points of interest in photos, such as subjects' eyes, should be placed along these lines or at the intersecting points to create more balanced and interesting images. Studies show people's eyes are naturally drawn to these points rather than the center of an image. Following this rule helps make photos more engaging for viewers, but rules can also be intentionally broken for creative effect after understanding them. Practice and experience helps make applying the Rule of Thirds second nature for photographers.

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86 views

Rule of Thirds: Darren Rowse 0 Del - Icio.Us Twitter Stumbleupon Digg

The Rule of Thirds is a basic principle of photographic composition that divides an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically, creating nine equal parts. Points of interest in photos, such as subjects' eyes, should be placed along these lines or at the intersecting points to create more balanced and interesting images. Studies show people's eyes are naturally drawn to these points rather than the center of an image. Following this rule helps make photos more engaging for viewers, but rules can also be intentionally broken for creative effect after understanding them. Practice and experience helps make applying the Rule of Thirds second nature for photographers.

Uploaded by

John Paul Santos
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Rule of Thirds

by Darren Rowse

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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 doesn’t
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 follows.
As you’re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through your viewfinder or in
the LCD display that you use to frame your shot.

With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that
you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image.

Not only this – but it also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your
photo.

The 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 people’s 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 bee’s eye becomes the point of focus here
are some of examples:
Another Rule of Thirds Example

In this image I’ve 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 I’ve 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.
In a similar way a good technique for landscape shots is to position horizons along one of the
horizontal lines also as I’ve done with the following shot (I’ll let you imagine the lines).

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:

 What are the points of interest in this shot?


 Where am I intentionally placing them?

Once again – remember that breaking the rule can result in some striking shots – so once you’ve
learnt it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.

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.

Enjoy this tutorial about the Rule of Thirds? Get more free tips by subscribing to Digital
Photography School.

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds#ixzz1F9kynEJV

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