Understanding the Rule of Thirds 

Knowing the rule of thirds can can cause people to find your images a lot more interesting. Historically it has been noted that artworks that have the main point of interest in the picture that you want to feature is positioned using the rule of thirds will often be more appealing.

To apprteciate the rule of thirds all you need to do is to take a rectangular piece of paper and draw 2 vertical lines that divide it into equal parts and then repeat the process with 2 horizontal lines. The result is some thing that appears like a naughts and crosses game.

Now imagine that the piece of paper is the view finder in your camera. The points where they intersect and the lines themselves are the key points in a photograph.

The Knowledge of the rule of thirds will prompt you to access your subject and try to pinpoint what is the most intriguing element that you are trying to capture.

Some examples of how you might use this are:

1. Landscape or seascape try positioning the horizon on the top line or the bottom line in the image finder.If the most intriging aspect of the image is the sky use the bottom line, if the land or sea is the dynamic factor use the top line.

2. For a portrait try positioning the subjects eyes on or near to the top line.

3. Position the main feature of your picture on one of the line intersections.

4. When a person is on the beach or out in the open when photographing them try positioning them looking into the image on one of the vertical lines.

Review some of your own images and see if you can find ones that you like that conform with the rule of thirds.

Finally be aware that even though we call it the rule of thirds use it as a guide and when you can find good reason to break the rules don’t let it stand in the way of your natural creativity.

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