A Guide to the Rule of Thirds for Photographers

Mar 2, 2009

The Rule Every Photographer Must Know: The Rule of Thirds

Categories: Featured, Shooting

Written By: admin

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:

[Abstract]

[Portraiture]

[Landscape]

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

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.