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Daily photo tips: Introducing the Rule of Thirds aid to composition
Posted 05-10-09 at 03:03 PM by Ian
No.11: Improve your composition simply and easily by using the Rule of Thirds.
Most photography beginners concentrate on positioning their subject in the centre of the frame, like so:
However, in many cases, by moving the centre of interest away from the centre of the frame you can make the picture work much better. The Rule of Thirds suggests dividing the frame up into thirds, vertically and horizontally, creating a matrix of nine boxes.
The idea is to move the centre of interest to where these boxes meet. Using the first picture as an example, below you can see that the area occupies by the two faces has been moved from the centre of the frame to where the top right four boxes meet:
And below is the final result. How do you think it compares with the original?
Don't take my word for it. Next time you go to an photography exhibition or look in a magazine, or watch TV, you should notice that the centre of attention in the frame is not dead-centre in the frame.
Above, we have a closer crop of the original scene, but the centre of interest is still in the centre of the frame.
This time, using the rule of thirds, all we have done is move the frame vertically to relocate the subjects' heads along the top third dividing line (above).
Again, compare the result with the original.
Here, we have used the Rule of Thirds with portraiture, but it works really well with many types of photography, from landscapes to macro.
Incidentally, and strictly speaking, the 'thirds' guides used in the mono images above are 'golden' sections, a variation on the Rule of Thirds whereby the central boxes are narrower than the corner boxes. This corresponds with some clever, if complicated theories of natural perspective in relation to how the human eye views the world. But as long as you can remember to consider off-setting the centre of interest, you will often be rewarded.
Like all rules, the Rule of Thirds is there to be broken and there are plenty of examples of superb images that disregard this rule, but in general it does work and it should be an important consideration when framing your images.
Tomorrow: An introduction to colour management.
Incidentally, please don't hesitate to post a question about this Daily photo tip if you have one!
Most photography beginners concentrate on positioning their subject in the centre of the frame, like so:
However, in many cases, by moving the centre of interest away from the centre of the frame you can make the picture work much better. The Rule of Thirds suggests dividing the frame up into thirds, vertically and horizontally, creating a matrix of nine boxes.
The idea is to move the centre of interest to where these boxes meet. Using the first picture as an example, below you can see that the area occupies by the two faces has been moved from the centre of the frame to where the top right four boxes meet:
And below is the final result. How do you think it compares with the original?
Don't take my word for it. Next time you go to an photography exhibition or look in a magazine, or watch TV, you should notice that the centre of attention in the frame is not dead-centre in the frame.
Above, we have a closer crop of the original scene, but the centre of interest is still in the centre of the frame.
This time, using the rule of thirds, all we have done is move the frame vertically to relocate the subjects' heads along the top third dividing line (above).
Again, compare the result with the original.
Here, we have used the Rule of Thirds with portraiture, but it works really well with many types of photography, from landscapes to macro.
Incidentally, and strictly speaking, the 'thirds' guides used in the mono images above are 'golden' sections, a variation on the Rule of Thirds whereby the central boxes are narrower than the corner boxes. This corresponds with some clever, if complicated theories of natural perspective in relation to how the human eye views the world. But as long as you can remember to consider off-setting the centre of interest, you will often be rewarded.
Like all rules, the Rule of Thirds is there to be broken and there are plenty of examples of superb images that disregard this rule, but in general it does work and it should be an important consideration when framing your images.
Tomorrow: An introduction to colour management.
Incidentally, please don't hesitate to post a question about this Daily photo tip if you have one!
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