Rule of Thirds
Understanding the basics of the rule of thirds will can cause people to find your images a lot more pleasing to the eye. Historically the observation has been made that images where the main point of interest in the picture that you want to feature is positioned using the rule of thirds often results in being more pleasing to the eye.
To understand 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. You get some thing that resembles a naughts and crosses game.
Now envisage 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.
Being aware of the rule of thirds will prompt you to analise your subject and try to recognise what is the most intriguing characteristic 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 image finder.Use the bottom line if the sky is the most interesting feature in the image, use the top line if the land or sea is more interesting.
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.
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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Tags: Photography