What is the Rule of Thirds (in photography)?
The rule of thirds is a method or technical directive principal for composing frames in the fields of photography. Painting, commercial visual art, advertising, filmmaking, etc. With its help you can add more elements of interest to your photo. What happens in this is that if the frame of the photo is divided into 9 equal square boxes (rectangles or rectangles) with the help of 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines as shown in the picture below. Then the prime element of your photo will be placed on any line. Must be at or at some intersection point. With this, the viewers’ eyes are more attracted to your photo and it stays longer.
The Rule of Thirds in photography is not a compulsory set rule, but it simply acts as a guideline for you. This is not a mandatory rule. It is not that by not following it you violate any basic principle of photography or art. But, with the help of the examples given in this article, you will find yourself that the Rule of Thirds makes your frames more interesting and more pleasing to the eye.
What is the Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds in photography is originally derived from painting. It has been used in the field of painting since photography was not even born. Painters have found from their experience that if the main subject of the picture is slightly removed from the central part of the frame, to the right or left. If placed above or below (off-center), the picture becomes more attractive and compact. For example, to depict the rising sun, instead of placing. It exactly in the middle of the frame, place it a little off-center i.e. right or left; Placing it above or below makes the picture look more interesting.
The rule of thirds is a popular method for composing strong and powerful frames. This method is widely used by photographers and painters in composing frames. As you know, the frame is composed in such a way that the main subject of the photo remains at some cross point of the grid lines or it can also be placed on any line.
How to incorporate the Rule of Thirds into your photography ?
In practice, it is not possible to precisely divide the frame into nine grids at the time of clicking a photo and then place the main subject at its cross points. Therefore, when you compose the frame before clicking the photo, at the same time you should remove the main subject from the center part of the frame and place it in such a way that it is above or near the grid line or cross-point when making the grid. Stay close.
Even during post processing, you can easily divide the frame into 9 grids and then place the main subject at its cross-point (or Point of Interest). For this you have to crop your photo neatly. Editing tools like photoshop helps you in this.
Remember, the Rule of Thirds is not a ‘hard and fast’ rule. This is one of many ways to compose a frame. Composing frames is actually an art. It cannot be tied to any one rule. Since the photographer is also an artist, he has complete freedom to experiment with every frame. However, understanding the rule of thirds helps you in composing your frame.
This concept of placing the subject offcenter makes your frame strong and ‘appealing’. You practice with this – both while clicking the photo and later during post processing.
In fact, where to place the main subject in the frame depends most on what the photographer wants to show. So, if the Rule of Thirds is a rule, sometimes breaking it can help you compose a better frame.