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The Rule of Thirds -
Raising the Bar of Excellence
By Tedric GarrisonThe three greatest secrets of all time as far as photography is concerned include: leading lines, the rule of thirds, and framing. This article will only address one of these, but when you master all three of these, your photography will look better than 90% of all the pictures being taken on planet earth.
Centuries ago, Greek artists discovered that the eye tends to focus on certain points in any given image. If you divide your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically, the points at which those lines intersect are the points where most people focus comfortably. You don't have to draw an arrow, in most cases this is where they will look without any coaching from you or anyone else. This is commonly referred to as the "Rule of Thirds".
By placing your subject (or point of interest) at one of these natural focus points, you have greatly increased the odds that the viewer will indeed be captivated by your work. As you do this more and more; people will notice that for some reason your work seems more interesting than their "Bull's-eye" type snap shot. They won't understand it, but they will be drawn to your work just like a magnet.
The Greeks and Egyptians were great mathematicians. I on the other hand; am not great at math, but I do understand the concept of 1/3rd in from the left or right and 1/3rd up or down. Those who know the formula will argue that it's not exactly 1/3rd, but that's OK. One of the things the rule of thirds does for your image is to give it movement. But wait a minute; you're asking what if my subject isn't moving? That's fine, but it gives your mind somewhere to go with the image. When your subject is dead center, your mind takes one glance and says, "Ok, next." Remember: "It's kind of hard to experience a photograph, if there's nothing left to the imagination."
Even when doing extreme close-ups it is possible to use the rule of thirds. Think of a beautiful models face, what's the first thing you look at? Do you immediately look at the nose? No, I doubt that very much. Usually you either look at the eyes or the lips. Both of these happen to be located where? Both of these heart stopping subjects are located 1/3rd up or 1/3rd down from dead center. Since the nose is usually located dead center; that's why I tend to doubt that it was the first thing that would catch your attention. I'm not saying a person can't have a cute nose, but where it's placed in the picture will determine just how much attention it will get.
Most girls are self conscious about their looks, that's why they tell you to back up. But in reality, that's exactly why you should NOT back up, in fact, you should probably get closer. In a front facing full body shot, what area is approximately 1/3rd up from the bottom of the frame? Usually it ends up being her hips or higher. If a girl is thinking she's fat, you don't want people staring at her waist. Force the viewer to look at her strength's. Draw his attention to her dreamy eyes; or her wonderful smile, not the few extra pounds just above her waist.
This same concept works for other subjects besides people. Say for example you have a beautiful stream coming down a mountain side. If you shoot horizontally with the stream dead center, most people will miss what you were trying to show. Now in this example, we also do have to consider the idea of leading lines as well. If the stream starts in the upper right third and ends somewhere in the lower left third of the picture, you have still taken advantage of the rule of thirds. This idea of placing objects where people naturally look is either overlooked or not understood by a large portion of amateur photographers. It is in fact one of the great secrets to raising your own bar to the next level of excellence.
This Article Written By: Tedric A. Garrison Cedar City, Utah
Tedric Garrison has done photography for over 30 years. In college he was an Art Major, and firmly believes that “Creativity can be taught.” Today; as a writer and photographer he shares his wealth of knowledge with the world, at: http://www.betterphototips.com
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