Rule of Thirds. Margot

With rambunctious boys, my first priority is getting the shot and hope it turns out after some editing.  With trying to follow the rule of thirds this week, I had the hardest time deciding what my focal point was and decided I often had more than one.

In this picture of Eli, his face is almost exactly in the middle. But I decided his face wasn’t the main focal point. His face blends in with the rest of the picture and I am drawn to his body, sitting on the ground and covered with leaves.

 

In this picture of Zach, my focus was on his arms and hands in the air, and the leaves ready to fall. All stayed on the lines of thirds and worked best this way.

 

Quality-wise this picture is bad. But I love the composition and I purposely cropped it so the boys with their dad were centered. I tried to crop it a few different ways to throw them off-center, but this was the best.

In this one, my focus was on the boys’ feet and how they were walking in sync with each other. This one easily followed the rule.

This is what I decided about the rule of thirds:

Because I know the history of my photos, my focus may be different than someone who doesn’t know the subject.

The background and setting play a big role in deciding if a centered focus will work or not. I think the bridge picture works because the focal point has a frame that is on the 1/3 line. (Like Jessica’s picture of Evan, the bars that frame him are on the 1/3 line.)

Critique away!

Rule of thirds: Jessica

I wish I could say that I took at least one picture a day, but I didn't. I have been thinking about this assignment a lot though. This was good for me, I usually don't think about this rule very often. I am also not very good a seeing if the rule was followed. The photo below is following the rule of thirds, right? Her eyes (and scraped up nose) are the focal point of the picture and they fall along the top line.
This photo does not follow the rule of thirds, but it works because the bars of the slide frame in his face. What do you think?
I did not take this photo this week but I thought it was a good example to show for positive and negative space. The subject is the positive space taking up 1/3 of the space, while the brick wall is the negative space taking up 2/3 of the space. Her eyes also fall along an intersection rather than being placed right in the middle of the photo.Let me know what you think, I can take any constructive criticism that you give! I just want to improve my photos and become more familiar with this rule.

Intro: Heidi

I am a Texan at heart! Home is Houston, Texas, but I have also lived in New York, California, and Utah. I met my husband at BYU and we were married in 2008. We both graduated this past April and moved out here to Indiana for my husband to do his PhD at Purdue.
I got my first camera when I was 14. I was so excited, that I took pictures of everything! I took photography classes in high school and then I was a photography major in college (but then had to switch my major) and continued to take photography courses so that I could do it after I graduated. So that is what I am doing, running my own photography business! I love taking pictures of people! I enjoy the challenge that each photo shoot brings me and I really love editing the photos I take!

Intro:Elizabeth Miller

Hi ! I am Elizabeth. Born and raised in good ol' Indiana... West Lafayette to be exact!! LOL . I moved away after

graduating from Purdue, only to find a guy that would bring me right back 1 1/5 years later.

I am pretty much right brained, intuitive, sensitive, and passionate. I need to do something creative daily, or I become very crabby! I have been married to an amazing guy for six years, who thankfully supports my zany habits! He supports me so much in fact, that he surprised me a year and a half ago with a nice little scavenger hunt for my birthday, that landed me in Barry's Camera Shop where I was to pick up my new DSLR. I spent lots of time learning, and playing with my new baby. Like any girl, she had to quickly gain new accessories, and she has been showing off her talents (with a little help from me.. lol) since. I started my photography business one year ago having been urged by friends and family. I am super blessed to have been able to meet so many wonderful new people who trust me to capture the special moments in their family's lives. I love challenging myself in all aspects of this art, and hope that this blog will encourage me to do so. Thanks for letting me be a part of it!

Five years ago, I started the hardest job I have ever had and three fabulous kids later, I never could have imagined that my life would be so blessed... I am an obsessed scrap booker and picture taker. I love Jesus and am so glad that he calls me friend. I love eclectic design, comfy quilts, the color pink, flip flops, Ben Folds,sappy chic flicks, diet dr. pepper, smiley faces in emails, a good accessory, big hugs from my kiddos, date nights with my man.. and yes, pina coladas and getting

caught in the rain. =)

Intro: Margot Jones

I'm from Southern California and grew up at the beach, Inn-N-Out, Disneyland, and Angels' games. Then I moved to Las Vegas where I went to High School, College, and got married. Now I've been in Indiana for almost 8 years. My husband is the CEO and owner of a small software development company (which sounds a lot cooler than it really is). I work part time from home on our eBay store and keep the books for my husband's said business. I also have two boys; Zach is 6 and in first grade and Eli is 1.5 and likes to scream.

In high school I took my first photography class and loved it. I loved taking pictures and more so, loved developing. While digital is so convenient, there's nothing like editing your photos in a dark room as opposed to on a computer. I still don't have a DSLR so I'm using a point-and-shoot for now. (But I vow this Christmas won't pass before I get a new Rebel.) I'm glad to have this blog as an excuse to take more pictures and learn more about the technical side of photography.

I'd really love for all my pictures to be of the beach and little boys building sand castles. But Indiana Beach isn't so picturesque. So I guess I'll settle for trees and little boys building snowmen.

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.

Heather Hansen

My name is Heather Hansen. I'm an Idaho farm girl who married an Ohio farm guy. I love the midwest and am glad we are here at Purdue. Mike is working on his PHD in chemistry while our daughter Lydia and son Colton work on sneaking outside any chance they get. I work on keeping the house clean and keeping everyone happy- a daunting task. I LOVE basketball, reading, writing, sewing and photography. Our family likes to ride bikes and play sports together.

I love photography and only wish I had more time to invest into it. I didn't realize I liked photography until college when I took a few photography courses for my major. I fell in love with all you can do and express. A picture truly is worth 1000 words. And now with wonderful digital technology, we can take thousands of pictures! I'm excited that with this blog I can use photography not only as a way to capture the moments, but as a way to learn and grow and improve myself.