Simple Composition - Rule of Thirds

Here's a general photographic tip that will help everyone create better images, whether you're shooting film or digital, point-and-shoot or dSLR. Today we're going to look at a basic compositional technique known as "the rule of thirds". Don't worry, you don't have do any math to get this right - in fact, once you see a few examples, you'll completely understand this simple concept and it'll change how you take photos.

Let's start with a typical photo where the subject is in the middle of the frame. This is how most beginners take a picture - they put the subject under the little dot in their viewfinder and push the button:


Now, there's nothing particularly wrong with this image, but it's not very exciting. The subject is obvious - an old windmill in the middle of a field of grass. The problem is, it's dead center - and that's usually dead wrong.


Now if you were a modern-day Don Quixote, using a rifle to hunt your windmill prey, this would be a good shot. But it's not a good photograph. (Usually - we'll talk about the exceptions to the rule on the next tip.)

This is where the "rule of thirds" comes into play. Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid, dividing the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically:


Ideally, any strong horizontal or vertical lines that are in the photograph - like the horizon or the windmill, in this case - should be found along one of these grid lines.

Also, around the center of the image are four intersections - these "power points" are away from the edges of the frame, but they're not too close to the middle, either. These are great spots to put the subject of your photograph.


Now, let's put this grid over our picture and see what we get:


See our problem? There's nothing at the "power points". We don't even have any of the lines that are in the photograph (the vertical line of the windmill or the horizon) on one of the lines created with our grid. So, let's re-compose and see what happens:


Now, not only do we put the primary part of the subject at one of the "power points", but we've also lined up the horizon and the windmill on grid lines. We've even managed to get another naturally-occurring line in the photograph (where the gold grass of the foreground turns into the green grass of the midground) to line up on a "rule of thirds" line. Now, let's take away the grid and see if we have a better picture:


Go ahead and take a moment to compare this image to the first example. Which one do you think works better? Which one keeps you looking at it longer? Which one draws your attention? Which one is more dynamic? Which one just feels better?

Now you're saying, "but this is a square photo - my camera doesn't take square pictures!" That's okay, neither does mine. But the rule still holds...


Ah, I can hear you now... "what about a photo without a horizon?" I've got you covered - here's a shot I took last month in the Smokies:


Let's overlay our grid on this photograph and see what we have:


Notice how the center of the subject - the hub of the mill's wheel - is at one of the intersections? Do you see any other parts of the photograph that fall along the lines? How about the trough feeding water onto the top of the wheel? Or the vertical spoke of the mill wheel?

This same concept works for portraits, too. Here's a photograph of a client of mine:


Now, let's put the overlay on it and analyze it:


We have the subject's face close to one of the "power points". It's not exactly there, but that's okay... like Captain Barbossa said, "they're more like... guidelines." But you see, photographers talking about "the guideline of thirds" wouldn't sound as knowledgeable... thus "the rule of thirds". Okay, back to work. The face is near a "power point" and his torso runs vertically close to the left-hand thirds line. The horizon and pier are along the top thirds line, providing even more balance.

What about an even simpler portrait? Something where it's just a person and nothing else? Alright, let's have a look at a family friend:


Say it with me now... "aawwwwww". Okay, now to put on our overlay and study the image:


We're naturally drawn to a subject's eyes first - it's just human nature. So, I placed one of her eyes at a "power point" and used the grid to help me compose the rest of the image, with her smile along the bottom third line and her eyes both on the top third line. And, even though the middle of her face is in the 'dead center' of the photograph, the image still works because her face is only in the right-hand two-thirds, with empty space on the left-hand third. (We need that space for other reasons, but we'll talk about the concept of "leading space" in another tip.)

That's it for now, but I hope these examples help you understand the mysterious "rule of thirds". Now that you know how simple it is to compose images using this technique, get out there and shoot!

Feel free to comment or ask questions - I'm happy to help!