Composition: Rule of thirds

How many times have you taken this picture:


You know, the one where you stick the subject smack dab in the middle of the photo and find, when all is said and done, it's just not a very interesting picture?

With few exceptions, the first instinct of most of us is to put the focal point of photo in the center. Unfortunately, this typically results in a flat, boring picture with unused space distributed in all the wrong places. It's far more interesting to put the focal point of an image off-center, preferably following the rule of thirds. Here is the image cropped so the eyes--the focal point of the face (in this image at least)--lie along a line about a third of the way down the image:


Still not a fabulous photo, but it's much better.

For reference, imagine an image is divided into thirds by a set of lines like this:


The focal point of an image should fall along one of those lines or at the intersections of two of the lines. Pictures that follow the rule of thirds tend to feel more balanced and are easier to look at. Another way of thinking of it is how you're using the negative and positive space in an image. The subject (positive space) of the photo should take up 2/3 of the image, leaving 1/3 on one side as negative space, or the subject should take up 1/3 leaving 2/3 negative space.

If you're already a pro at following the rule of thirds (or knowing when to use it and when to ignore it), I'm envious. The rest of us need to practice until placing the focal point of an image in the right spot becomes second nature.

This week's assignment is easy: take at least one picture every day. Look at how you're taking your pictures--do you follow the rule of thirds? What happens when you crop them to follow the rule of thirds? Did you take any pictures that you really like that don't follow the rule of thirds? What makes those ones work? While you're watching TV, looking at billboards and other ads, or looking at any sort of image online, notice where the focal point of the image is--how often do images follow or break the rule of thirds?

Post your favorite 2-3 (or so) images for discussion by next Monday (15 November). Label the post with your name and Rule of thirds. If you haven't finished your intro, please get that up too! If you took some pictures during the week that don't follow the rule of thirds initially but you can crop, show both versions. If you took some that work well in spite of breaking this rule, show those too. Above all, have fun and get familiar with the settings on your camera. We'll be playing with those in the not too far distant future.