FRIDAY TIP: Using the Rule of Thirds

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The first rule of composition is the Rule of Thirds but the first Rule of Photography is that there are no rules, just guidelines - remember that. 

 The Rule of Thirds applies to all the visual arts (design, films, paintings etc) and is where the frame is divided into nine parts and the important elements are placed on or near these lines.

The following photographs taken on Belhaven Bay beach demonstrate the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the upper third of the photo from the lower two-thirds. The shell in the image above sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point or a crash point. 

Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds as the stump shows in the image below. It falls near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.


However the opening paragraph of this blog stated that the Rule of Thirds is not a rule, it is a guideline. The image below demonstrates that you can break the Rule of Thirds by placing the horizon in the centre of the frame.  Because the wet sand reflects the sky, this is a mirror image and the only place to put the horizon is in the middle.  And it does work.


 BUT the Rule of Thirds is a great guideline to follow and if you look at the majority of the great landscape photographs you'll see that they are composed using this guideline.  

 So next time you are looking at a scene through the viewfinder or on the Live View screen, think 'Rule of Thirds'.

Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and a Fujinon 14mm f2.8 lens
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