Composition: The Rule of 3rds

What is the Rule of Thirds?

If you divide your image into 9 equal parts, by dividing the horizontal area into 3 sections and the vertical area into 3 sections, you have a grid.  Most Digital SLR cameras have a grid that can be turned off or on.  Check your camera’s manual to find out how to do that.

When you are preparing to photograph and image, think about breaking your image up into the 9 equal parts.  The grid above shows the 4 main points of focus in an image.  An interesting place to put your subject is on one of the 4 intersecting points.  Another interesting place to put your subject in along one of the 4 lines.  Two are vertical and two are horizontal.  Before pressing the shutter, frame and reframe you image to see what pleases your eye the most.

Studies have shown that when images  are being viewed, the viewer’s eyes usually travel to one of the intersection points and then follow the subject and other points of interest, and not the center of the shot.  So by using the rule of thirds, the photographer can effectively help the viewer use their natural way of viewing a photograph and not working against it; therefore,  if you place your subject in the intersections or along the lines that your image is more balanced and  enables the view the image not only the way the photographer intends, but the way their eyes prefer to view it.

Before pressing the shutter, ask yourself:

• What are the points of interest in this shot?
• Where am I intentionally placing them?

PHOTOGRAPHING A BANANA TREE SPIDER USING THE RULE OF THIRDS

I found this very tiny banana spider in my yard when looking for subjects in my yard to show the Rule of Thirds.  She must have just hatched and was still very skittish.  When I got close, she ran to the leaf and turned her bottom end up toward the camera.

NOT USING THE RULE OF THIRDS

I intentionally broke the rule with this image.  The leading lines of the green stem and the brown leaves, as well as the straight lines of the web draw the viewer’s eye around the image.  The first place that the eye naturally looks is that in focus brown stem and not the spider.  That focal point is not only wrong, but very distracting!

PHOTOGRAPHING A BANANA SPIDER USING THE UPPER 3RD OF THE VIEWING AREA

These images are much more pleasing.  The one on the left has just the top left in focus so the viewer notices the spider.  The image on the right would be even better if that pesky brown stem wasn’t in focus.  There wonderful lines through the image that makes the viewer’s eye move around the image.

I really like the image on the left.  The focus remains on the spider because of all the negative space to the top and right of the spider.  The image on the right would be my favorite if that brown stem were not in focus.  Time to bring it into Photoshop and blur the leaf and stem.