What Is Rule Of Thirds In Photography?

People say photography is an “Art”. I would say, photography is a technique or a person’s ability to create an eye-catching photo that tells a story. Professional photographers put an ample amount of effort to learn this skill and gain expertise in photography.

Rule of thirds is one of the most important techniques that a beginner photographer needs to know before actually stepping into the field of photography.

In this article, I am going to answer some of the most asked questions related to picture composition by using the rule of thirds.

What is Picture composition?

A good picture composition is the first step towards making an outstanding picture. It is a technique to organize various subjects and visual components of the image into an all around adjusted and appealing composition inside your picture frame.

How to compose a picture using Rule of thirds?

To answer this question, let us first understand what is the rule of thirds?

What is the rule of thirds?

The fundamental guideline behind the rule of thirds is to divide a picture into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) with the goal that you have 9 sections. As showed below:

Photo by Srijita Kushwaha

In order to compose your picture using the rule of thirds, you need to place the significant components inside your picture frame at the intersecting points of these lines, as you can see in the above picture elephant is the subject thus, it is at one of the intersection.
When capturing subjects like a tree or skyline, which contains straight lines, the rule of thirds recommends putting them along one of the four lines.

While clicking a portrait photograph, the rule of thirds suggests placing the subject’s eyes near the top intersection and the bodyline close to one of the vertical grid. As shown below:

Photo by bruce mars from Pexels

How to use the rule of thirds while clicking a photograph?

1. Identify vertical and horizontal components in your picture.
2. Mentally divide the image into thirds, as shown in the above picture. If your phone/camera has a Grid view you can use the feature to compose your image as per the rule of thirds.
3. Align the vertical components with the vertical lines of the grid and horizontal components with the horizontal lines.
4. If there are subjects in focus that are to be separated from the background, place those subjects near or at the intersections.
5. Click your image.

For a similar read click here:

Beginners Guide to Rule of Thirds in Photography

Examples of the rule of thirds:

The rule of thirds is extremely versatile and it can be used to compose almost any type of image. Let us see some sample implementation of the rule of thirds:

Landscape Photography

In the above picture, main subject is the tree that creates the scene in this image. Hence, this tree is aligned along the right vertical line of the grid.

In the above picture, Boat is the main subject. Hence it is kept near the bottom right intersection of the grid.

Portrait photography

Photo by Abhiram Prakash from Pexels

In the above picture, the man in the frame is the main subject, hence his position is aligned along the right vertical line of the grid.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives from Pexels

In the above silhouette image, the couple is the main subject, thus their position is aligned near to the bottom left intersection and the horizon, that is the sea line in the background, is aligned along the horizontal line of the grid.

Related Read:

Become A Master of Silhouette Photography: Facts & Tips

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels

In this portrait image, the lady’s eyes are aligned along the top intersection of the grid.,hence following the rule of thirds.

Pet Photography

Photo by Ruel Madelo from Pexels

In the above image, the dog’s body is aligned with the vertical right grid line. Hence the composition of the image looks balanced as all the other components of the image like the sea, sand, and clouds, are getting the required space in the image.

Photo by Ihsan Aditya from Pexels

In the above image, the kitten is the main subject and hence by the rule of thirds, it is aligned along

the bottom right intersection of the grid.

My View:

As you can see from the above examples, the rule of thirds can be applied to any type of image. But photography is an art and your imagination is the brush that will paint the canvas. Hence, I would suggest keep the rule of thirds in the back of your mind but experiment and find your own sweet spot while composing your images.

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