The middle doesn’t work in pictures
Several weeks ago I wrote about keeping your subject out of the middle of the picture. This article takes that idea one step further with a compositional guideline called the Rule of Thirds.
In this example you see a grid of intersecting lines. Each line is one-third into the picture; one-third from the top, one-third from the bottom and one-third from each side. See where the rule gets its name?
By placing your subject and other important elements close to where the lines meet, you’ll get a much more interesting picture. Part of the reason is that your eyes will travel around the image more instead of getting stuck, like they do when the subject is right in the middle.
Some cameras have a special feature that will show this grid on the display while you take your pictures. I love this feature on my camera and rarely turn it off.
Actions:
- Look at some of your pictures. What is in the areas where the thirds lines meet?
- Check your camera manual to see if your camera has a grid for the display