My examples:
The rule of thirds is likely a term that you may have heard in reference to photography or videography, or maybe even graphic design or art. But you may be asking yourself, what is the rule of thirds and why is it referenced so often? The rule of thirds is a com positional “rule” that suggests diving the image into thirds and placing the subject on one of those sides, instead of in the center. Like other rules in photography, the rule of thirds is meant only as a guideline — but more often than not, helps create stronger images. Here’s how.
The simplest rule of composition
There are many “rules” of composition, and we have rules in quotations here because they are more like guidelines than actual rules. The golden ratio is another that you may have heard about (and if you’re having trouble with it, there are tools to help). But the reason for the rule of thirds’ popularity lies less in what it promotes, and more in how simple and easy it is to understand. Simply put, the rule of thirds is the basis of most discussions on composition; it is the bedrock of most accepted com positional practices, and for this reason, it is one of the first concepts that photographers are told to learn. So, what is the rule of thirds?
The rule of thirds is a set of guidelines meant to help a photographer place a subject in the image, in a way that’s pleasing to the viewer. The most common way that it is displayed visually is with a grid pattern laid over the image, showing two vertical lines (breaking the image into thirds vertically) and two horizontal lines (breaking the image into thirds horizontally), as shown in the image below.
This rule is so popular and so important to many photographers’ creative processes that many digital cameras these days have the option to overlay the grid pattern over the viewfinder or live-view monitor. This allows the photographer or videographer to correctly line up the subject to be in compliance with the rule of thirds.
But, again you ask, what are the guidelines? They vary from person to person, but in general, the accepted guidelines are as follows:
When photographing people, you want your subject to be aligned with one of the vertical lines in the frame. This doesn’t need to be exact, but the closer the better. In addition to the subject being aligned with one of those vertical lines, you also want his or her eyes to be roughly aligned with one of the horizontal lines. As well, if the person is not looking directly into the camera, you want the majority of the frame to be open in the direction that he or she is looking. So if the subject is looking to the right (your left), you will want the subject aligned to the right vertical line; if she is looking to her left (your right), then you want to align it up with the left vertical line. When photographing landscapes (as you can see in this series), you want to align the horizon with one of the horizontal lines, usually the bottom one. This is to prevent the horizon from being dead center in the frame and visually cutting the image in half. This also applies to photos of people, but the previously mentioned guidelines should usually take priority over this one and often take care of the issue of a centered horizon. Ideally, you want your point of interest (for a portrait, this will usually be the eyes) to be on or around one of the points where a vertical line crosses a horizontal line. This isn’t always doable, while still following all the rules above, but when it is, the results are wonderful. Do you have to use it? Despite it being called a rule, as noted above, the rule of thirds is nothing more than a set of guidelines to help you compose your images, video, or art in an appealing way to the viewer. As with any guidelines they can and should be broken, but it is important to have a reason for breaking them, and beyond that, an understanding of how your choice will affect the viewer.
So no, you do not have to use the rule of thirds. However, we do recommend using it whenever possible as it is a proven formula that works, and as the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So unless the rule of thirds breaks your image (i.e., it doesn’t produce the look, feeling, or style you are going for) it is best to make use of it.
Learning to use the rule of thirds
If you want to learn how to use the rule of thirds to greater effect in your imagery, it is important to ask yourself two important questions regarding the subject of your image:
Which vertical line should he/she be aligned with (remember to pay attention to the direction they are looking)?Which horizontal line alignment, for the eyes, gives the most appealing look? In most cases, this will likely be the upper of the two horizontal lines, but the bottom one should always be considered as well.
*THIS WAS COPIED BY THE WEBSITE*
www.varmstudio.com
The simplest rule of composition
There are many “rules” of composition, and we have rules in quotations here because they are more like guidelines than actual rules. The golden ratio is another that you may have heard about (and if you’re having trouble with it, there are tools to help). But the reason for the rule of thirds’ popularity lies less in what it promotes, and more in how simple and easy it is to understand. Simply put, the rule of thirds is the basis of most discussions on composition; it is the bedrock of most accepted com positional practices, and for this reason, it is one of the first concepts that photographers are told to learn. So, what is the rule of thirds?
The rule of thirds is a set of guidelines meant to help a photographer place a subject in the image, in a way that’s pleasing to the viewer. The most common way that it is displayed visually is with a grid pattern laid over the image, showing two vertical lines (breaking the image into thirds vertically) and two horizontal lines (breaking the image into thirds horizontally), as shown in the image below.
This rule is so popular and so important to many photographers’ creative processes that many digital cameras these days have the option to overlay the grid pattern over the viewfinder or live-view monitor. This allows the photographer or videographer to correctly line up the subject to be in compliance with the rule of thirds.
But, again you ask, what are the guidelines? They vary from person to person, but in general, the accepted guidelines are as follows:
When photographing people, you want your subject to be aligned with one of the vertical lines in the frame. This doesn’t need to be exact, but the closer the better. In addition to the subject being aligned with one of those vertical lines, you also want his or her eyes to be roughly aligned with one of the horizontal lines. As well, if the person is not looking directly into the camera, you want the majority of the frame to be open in the direction that he or she is looking. So if the subject is looking to the right (your left), you will want the subject aligned to the right vertical line; if she is looking to her left (your right), then you want to align it up with the left vertical line. When photographing landscapes (as you can see in this series), you want to align the horizon with one of the horizontal lines, usually the bottom one. This is to prevent the horizon from being dead center in the frame and visually cutting the image in half. This also applies to photos of people, but the previously mentioned guidelines should usually take priority over this one and often take care of the issue of a centered horizon. Ideally, you want your point of interest (for a portrait, this will usually be the eyes) to be on or around one of the points where a vertical line crosses a horizontal line. This isn’t always doable, while still following all the rules above, but when it is, the results are wonderful. Do you have to use it? Despite it being called a rule, as noted above, the rule of thirds is nothing more than a set of guidelines to help you compose your images, video, or art in an appealing way to the viewer. As with any guidelines they can and should be broken, but it is important to have a reason for breaking them, and beyond that, an understanding of how your choice will affect the viewer.
So no, you do not have to use the rule of thirds. However, we do recommend using it whenever possible as it is a proven formula that works, and as the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So unless the rule of thirds breaks your image (i.e., it doesn’t produce the look, feeling, or style you are going for) it is best to make use of it.
Learning to use the rule of thirds
If you want to learn how to use the rule of thirds to greater effect in your imagery, it is important to ask yourself two important questions regarding the subject of your image:
Which vertical line should he/she be aligned with (remember to pay attention to the direction they are looking)?Which horizontal line alignment, for the eyes, gives the most appealing look? In most cases, this will likely be the upper of the two horizontal lines, but the bottom one should always be considered as well.
*THIS WAS COPIED BY THE WEBSITE*
www.varmstudio.com
Best: |
Worst: |
The photo on the right was blurry and not in the rule of thirds, however I changed that on the picture on the left by adjusting the placement of the objects and staying still for it to be a clear, focused image.