getitdigital review: Rule of Thirds- Where you put your subject matters…

This is part of the getitdigital review Tips and Tricks series which is designed in order to assist you in taking better pictures. Please feel free to email us with any questions about photography you may have to will@getitdigital.com . It may even end up as a post and we’ll obviously give credit where credit is due!

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Now that you’ve got your brand new DSLR and you’re ready to shoot, it is time to learn one of the most essential concepts in photography. Namely, the rule of thirds. Just to give an overview of this concept before we start, let’s define it.

The Rule of Thirds

This concept actually dates back to 1797 and was applied to paintings. The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb pertaining to visual arts like photography, painting, and video. The rule says that the image should be divided in to nine parts using equally spaced vertical and horizontal lines like you see below:

Further the rule states that you should make sure the important compositional objects should be placed along the lines or the intersections. By placing your subject at these points adds tension, energy and interest in the subject.

You can try a simple experiment to see why this is actually true.  When people look at a subject, your eyes never place the subject in the center. Even when you are looking straight at a subject, if you analyze what you are seeing, you will notice that the image is actually along the lines dictated in the rule of thirds.

So that’s the experiment. Try looking at something and you’ll see that your brain follows the rule. That something will be lined up according to the rule of thirds.

Applications in photography

As the rule states above, you should place your subjects along one of the lines or at an intersecting point of the two lines. Some cameras, like the Nikon D300s, actually have a grid that can be displayed during live view operation in order to place the subject properly. When a subject is placed directly in the center of the of the picture like the one below, it seems quite stayed and not really exciting.

If, on the other hand, you place the subject slightly below the center line, on the thirds line, you get a much more dynamic picture. Take a gander at the same subject, placed differently, below.

Breaking the Rule

Sometimes, as with all rules, the rule of thirds can be broken. Especially when it comes to photographing buildings and other structures. Placing the subject right in the middle will give context to the picture thereby increasing interest.

The most important thing to remember regarding breaking this or any rule in photography is that with digital photography, even if you mess up, you can erase the picture and get another one. Isn’t it grand???!!!!

Thanks for Reading and Happy Shooting!

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