It is an age-old adage, but the Rule of Thirds is present in a surprising amount of photographs.
The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. Proponents of this technique claim that aligning a photograph with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the feature would.
There are quite a few sites out there that talk about the rule of thirds, and there is a lot of discussion going on as to wether it’s a load of poo-poo, or if there is some sense to it. We’d be the last people to say that you should be using the rule of thirds, but one thing it certainly does is that you become more aware of your framing and what’s actually going on in your frame.
Read more about the rule of thirds on Silverlight, Wikipedia and Everything2.
To see some examples of the Rule of Thirds in action, check out the example galleries on Pixalo, PhotoInf, Digital Photography 101 and Better Photo!
Now go out there and give it a try!
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About Haje Jan
This post was written by Haje Jan Kamps, who has written 554 articles for Photocritic
Haje has written half a dozen books about photography. He spends most of his time running Triggertrap, a company that creates creative tools for triggering your camera.
His most recent books are:
- Shooting Yourself - Self portraits with attitude.
Digital Download / in bookstores - The Rules of Photography - and when to break them.
Digital Download / in bookstores - Focus on Travel Photography - take great photos wherever you go.
In bookstores now!