The Rule Every Photographer Must Know: The Rule of Thirds

By Light Stalking on 2 Mar 2009 in Featured, Shooting[ 12 Comments ]

When it comes to learning photography, there are some rudimentary rules and skills that everyone needs to understand quickly if they are going to start producing great images.

In the world of art and photography, no rule is more fundamental than the Rule of Thirds.

The Rule of Thirds is basically a compositional guide that recommends that any image should be (imaginarily) divided into nine sections by equally spaced vertical and horizontal lines (like a tic tac toe grid). Any major elements within the image should be placed along these lines and preferably at the points of intersection.

Take this photograph for instance:

As you can see, the tree and the horizon, which are the main elements of the photograph, are placed almost perfectly along the horizontal and vertical lines drawn through the image, with the middle of the tree perfectly on the intersection of the lines. This is a textbook example of the Rule of Thirds in photography.

It is important to remember that the Rule of Thirds is really only a guideline. There are many times when it is acceptable to break this convention. For people who are new to photography however, it is a good guide to creating well composed photographs.

Some other image that utilise the Rule of Thirds in their composition:

Photo by Memeory Lane Shots

[Abstract]

Photo by Annamorphic

[Landscape]

Photo by Son of Jordan

[Landscape]

As you can see, the Rule of Thirds can really help – especially with basic composition for basic subjects.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

12 Comments

+1 Beach Photos: 10 Tips for Improving Your Beach Photography | Light Stalking:

[...] of beach photos is just as important as any other type of photography. Remember to consider the rule of thirds and you shouldn’t go too far wrong with your beach [...]

April 26, 2009 at 5:22 pmReply
Sarah:

Thanks! This is very helpful!

October 19, 2009 at 8:05 amReply
Mia Rose:

These are stunning examples of the Rule of Thirds. Thank you so much.

Warm wishes,
Mia Rose

December 25, 2009 at 2:38 amReply
Tom Grier:

In our Visual Journalism courses here at Winona State University (Minnesota), we've moved toward calling it “The Guide of Thirds.” We found students took the “rule” too literally and began to compose every image this way, regardless of content. It's a great way to enhance composition of most images, and these (above) are stunning, beautiful examples. But, clearly, there are some images that would be better suited with a more symmetrical treatment. Thanks for a thought-provoking, helpful article.

February 2, 2010 at 8:43 pmReply
26 Uplifting Photos of Lighthouses | Light Stalking:

[...] These photos of lighthouses show that if you’re willing to wait for the right lighting and compose your shot well, the resulting images can be fantastic. We put this collection together from the great [...]

February 8, 2010 at 2:52 pmReply
Blythe:

, . . , thanks for the tips, examples, etc. , guys, , , i like them and i learned something……….

, . . , great photos also…………….

March 18, 2010 at 2:41 amReply
25 Great Shots That Use Roads and Paths to Enhance the Composition | Light Stalking:

[...] photography is very subjective, but most will agree that, to some form or another, following the rule of thirds will help achieve a great looking photo. One way to do this is incorporating roads and paths into [...]

July 28, 2010 at 6:06 pmReply
Use These 5 Elements to Compose Great Photographs | Light Stalking:

[...] composition. We have covered several compositional elements of photography previously such as the photographer’s rule of thirds and the s-curve, but let’s move on to some other less stringent “rules” for [...]

August 29, 2010 at 6:52 pmReply
How to Prepare Your Landscapes for Black and White | Light Stalking:

[...] of landscape photography apply to both black and white and color images – such as composition, rule-of-thirds, using a tripod for long exposures, etc. However, there are some things to keep in mind [...]

September 30, 2010 at 6:25 pmReply
Prepare your Landscapes for Black and white | Viewfinder Digital Camera Club:

[...] of landscape photography apply to both black and white and colour images – such as composition, rule-of-thirds, using a tripod for long exposures, [...]

December 28, 2010 at 2:57 amReply
Zulaikha Didi:

Thanks! Its very helpful…

May 18, 2011 at 6:22 amReply
6 Techniques to Draw the Eye to an Object in Your Photograph:

[...] fact is that the vast majority of the time a human will be drawn to looking in the general area of where the thirds converge on an image. If you’re not sure what that means then check out our guide to the rule of [...]

December 11, 2011 at 6:13 pmReply