The Famous Rule of Thirds in Photography

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The Famous Rule of Thirds in Photography

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

The most famous of the so called “rules of photography,” the Rule of Thirds is probably the first thing you will hear about when you begin the learning process. It is based upon the common belief that the eyes first look at the sides of a photograph, not at its center . That’s why, according to the rule, the subject should be placed along imaginary lines indicating the best spots within the photograph.

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. Two lines are used to divide the photograph into three horizontal sections, while two other perpendicular lines divide it into three vertical sections. Four intersection points will be formed at the meeting points between each nonparallel pair of lines . 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. Eyes are usually placed along the top horizontal line. This will put emphasis on the eye, frame the whole face, and leave no details out of the picture.

The Rule of Thirds is commonly used in landscape photography as well. If the foreground contains any subjects, they should be placed in compliance with the rule (usually along vertical lines). As for the background, horizons are usually aligned to one of the horizontal lines. Some landscape photos may contain other elements in the background like clouds or mountains. These can also be aligned to the lines of thirds and, if possible, separated in different thirds, producing a well composed 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. In other situations the rule is usually neglected, like when trying to balance reflection with the real subjects inside the frame. Here, the mirror line (the line separating the reflection from the real) is usually aligned at the middle.

The Rule of Thirds is an easy to learn, yet very effective technique. By using it, you will be able to produce photos that are very appealing to the eyes.

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