Rule of Thirds

Rule of thirds is in my opinion the easiest way to make your photos look better.  Composition is vital to a good looking picture. Our natural tendency is to try and center everything we look at. Take a portrait, center it, take a landscape, center the building in it, but these aren’t the best way to make our pictures visually appealing. 

                First off what is the rule of thirds?  Imagine a tic tac board, the theory is that by placing objects on the lines of the tic tac board that the composition of the photo will improve.  But why is this?  Well naturally we love to center things in life, but when we see life as it’s happening it’s rarely centered. Composition is built on leading the eye, enhancing the image simply by placing emphasis on the location of the main focus point in an off center point of view. It sounds simplistic but it’s amazing the effect that this can accomplish.  Another way to use the rule of thirds is when shooting groups. It can allow you to see how they would best be place by moving around the levels of the group, by levels I mean the height of this in the group.  Another compositional trick that can be used when combined with the rule of thirds is by using the landscape to point at your object.

                For instance if you are taking a picture of a barn with a long winding road in the frame use the road to steer the eye towards the barn.  Sir Joshua Reynolds“Two distinct, equal lights, should never appear in the same picture : One should be principal, and the rest sub-ordinate, both in dimension and degree : Unequal parts and gradations lead the attention easily from part to part, while parts of equal appearance hold it awkwardly suspended, as if unable to determine which of those parts is to be considered as the subordinate. "And to give the utmost force and solidity to your work, some part of the picture should be as light, and some as dark as possible : These two extremes are then to be harmonized and reconciled to each other."

                This isn’t to say the rule of thirds should always be used, rather it’s a guideline for people getting into photography to help them with their composition.  As people become more comftorable and creative in how they frame their subject they can move away from the rule of thirds. The lasting reminder from this lesson is to keep things out of the center of the frame because it leaves the image looking a bit bland.