Rule of Thirds
Knowing the rule of thirds will substantially improve the appeal of your photographic images. Over time the observation has been made that photographs that have the main point of interest in the picture that you want a persons eye drawn to is positioned using the rule of thirds will often be more pleasing to the eye.
To understand the rule of thirds just take a rectangular piece of paper and draw 2 vertical lines that divide it into equal thirds and then repeat the process with 2 horizontal lines. You get some thing that looks like a naughts and crosses game.
Now imagine that the piece of paper is the view finder in your camera. The lines themselves and the points where they intersect are the powerful points in a photograph.
If nothing else the knowledge of the rule of thirds will prompt you to analise your subject and try to identify what is the most interesting element that you are trying to capture.
Some examples of how you might use this are:
1. Position the horizon on the top line or the bottom line of a seascape or landscape in the view finder.Use the bottom line if the sky is the most interesting feature in the image, if the land or sea is the dynamic factor use the top line.
2. Try to position the eyes of a subject near or on the top line ifor a portrait.
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.
Have a look at some of your own images and see if by cropping them using your knowledge of the rule of thirds you can make them more pleasing to the eye.
Finally, dont let the rule of thirds stand in the way of your inner creativity. Rules can be broken if you have good reason.
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