3*365: The Rule of Thirds
January 3, 2012 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under 365, Bloggie
Today in our 365 Photo Project we’re looking at a rule that’s used by photographers, graphic artists and painters: the Rule of Thirds.
Here’s the Wikipedia explanation of the Rule of Thirds:
The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design. 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.
That sounds a little complicated but it’s not at all!
Here’s our tip:
Basically you want to imagine a tic-tac-toe board over your image. You want the most important part of your photo to be placed at one of the points where the lines intersect.
First, let’s look at a photo of Tiki taken just a moment before the photo above. Her head is right in the center of the photo:
It’s an OK shot but it’s a little boring, a little predictable. Now, let’s move so Tiki’s eyes, the focal point of the photo, are at an intersection of the tic-tac-toe lines. Here’s the top shot of Tiki with an overlay of lines so you can see the imaginary tic-tac-toe board:
That’s a nicer shot! It’s quick and easy to do when you’re shooting and it makes for a fun photo of your dog!
If you try out today’s 365 tip, please leave us a comment in the comment box below and even attach a photo of your dog so we can share the fun! And if you’ve missed any of the 365 series, you’ll find them all in this special 365 section.
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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