The Rule of Thirds

[Nailer]

Copied from the Wikipida Encyclopedia.

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.[1] The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

The photograph below demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

A few of my images that I applied this to.

In this image the horizon line is very close to the lower third line, and the peer/light house is on the left third line.

The same thing applies to this shot, where Jon's Face is lined up with the top right third line.

Another thing to note with this shot is; You should always have your subject looking into the shot.

Two more examples.

These rules are not a must, and all rules are meant to be broken. They are simply used to make your photos pop more.

[GLF]

Thanks for the tip Ken!

[Priority1]

Thanks Ken.

[joelsanders]

DUDE WHOA! THATS SO AWESOME!,seriously thats why your pics are so cool! i will share this post with my 14 year old aspiring photogrhapher thanks!

[Adam Bomb]

Nice post Ken.

[Phishy]

Copied from the Wikipida Encyclopedia.

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.[1] The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

The photograph below demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

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to summarize for my pea sized brain, I interpret that to mean offset the subject of your photo horizontally and vertically, don't center it. I’ve always dabbled with photography, but never had any formal instruction, this theory may explain why some of my pix are better than others without ever know why. for example:

Now I know and will try to take advantage of it….Thanx!!

[Nailer]

Jim they both look nice. To much clutter can distract from a shot.

In Landscape shots it's very important to keep the horizon line straight.

Even if the camera was level when you took this shot, the angle makes it look like it's sloping down. The fence and barn roof catch your eye.

I rotated it slightly and cropped it up closer to the 1/3 line.

I'm no expert. Photography is mostly a winter time study for me. Keep shooting. Is this your home?

Edited November 19, 2009 by Nailer

[Phishy]

I like what you done to it!!! Subtle differences make a huge impact!

That view was from my front porch when I lived inland. (best hunting area of my life ..so far...) At the time I took the shot I was in the kitchen and noticed a glorious sunset so I grabbed the camera and ran outside, literally running down the road trying to get a good frame snapping shots as I went, I had missed the actual sun, but captured this one.

I may have to make a trip to the library and pick up a book or two on the subject…

[phishtix]

Nice pics you guys!