Composition
Rule of Thirds
Perhaps the most well know principle of photographic composition is the 'Rule of Thirds.'
The "Rule of Thirds" is one of the first things that digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.
What is the Rule of Thirds?
The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts.
The theory is that if you place points of interest on the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people's eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot.
In learning how to use the rule of thirds the most important questions to be asking yourself are:
- What are the points of interest in this shot?
- Where am I intentionally placing them?
Rules are meant to be broken. Breaking the rule can result in some striking shots - so once you have learned how to use the rule of thirds experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.
Keep the rule of thirds in mind as you edit your photos later on. Post production editing tools today have good tools for cropping and reframing images so that they fit within the rules.
Read more at Digital Photography School