Composition in photography is one of the most essential
skills a new photographer can learn. Unfortunately, in our
rush to embrace every new piece of technogy, the artistic
aspects of photography often get the least attention.
If you bought a great digital camera and your photos still
look like snapshots, it is not the fault of your equipment.
Perhaps it is time to start looking at your subjects with a
more creative eye, and think a little more about good
composition. Where to start? Well, most experienced
photographers will tell you the best place to start is the
Rule Of Thirds.
What is the Rule Of Thirds? It is a sort of guideline to
help you structure your composition in a balanced way that
pleases the eye. Like all rules, it is made to be broken,
but we will look at that later. With experience, you can
judge for yourself when to apply the Rule Of Thirds and
when to ignore it. However, before you can make that
decision you need to understand the Rule Of Thirds and how
it works.
Imagine the rectangular shape of any photograph. Now draw a
horizontal line one third from the top of the frame, and
another one third from the bottom. Then draw a vertical
line, one third from the left, and another one third from
the right. Your rectangle should now be divided into nine
equal sections.
According to the Rule Of Thirds, the lines that divide the
picture into thirds are the most effective places to
position objects in your photo. So, for example, the
horizon should be positioned on or near the line a third
from the top or a third from the bottom of the picture.
Vertical objects like trees should be placed on or near the
lines a third from the left or right of the picture.
Also according to the rule, the most powerful points in the
composition are the areas where the lines intersect. So, if
your horizon is a third from the top of the frame, a house
or tree on the horizon would be best placed a third from
the left or right, at the intersecting point of the
horizontal and vertical lines. If you have positioned a
tree along one of the vertical lines, a bird sitting in a
fork of the tree would be best positioned where it
intersects with the horizontal line a third from the top.
If this seems hard to follow, sketch it out and it will
start to make sense.
This may sound a little too structured for the real world,
and in most cases it is. As a professional nature
photographer, I know that the natural world is not so
neatly divided for our convenience. You cannot expect all
the objects in your photos to fall into place according to
the Rule Of Thirds. However, by using the rule as a general
framework, you can begin to create structure in your
photography
Why does the Rule Of Thirds work? Don't know, don't need to
know. But it does work. It satisfies our sense of visual
proportion, so that photos structured in this way appear
balanced in the eye of the viewer. You can prove this for
yourself right now, just by looking at a book of your
favourite photos. When you apply the framework to each
picture, you will probably find that most of them, at least
loosely, fit the Rule Of Thirds.
Many photographers have a natural sense of visual balance.
They take their photos according to the rule of thirds
without being aware of it. They may simply shoot the
picture that 'looks right' or 'feels right' to them,
unconsciously applying the rule as they go. For new
photographers who are struggling with composition, this
simple guideline will make a world of difference. In time,
and with experience, these beginners will develop their own
natural 'feel' for composition.
Am I suggesting that every photo must be taken using the
rule of thirds? Is any photo that falls outside these
guidelines a failure? Absolutely not.
Some photos are made more effective by deliberately
ignoring the rule of thirds. The photographer may choose to
draw attention to a feature of the photo by placing it
where we would not normally expect to find it. Shaking up
the viewer's sense of visual balance can add real impact to
a photo if it is done well. I can give you a very simple
example from my field of nature photography.
A sunset photo is usually all about the sky. A photographer
can add impact to the sky by lowering the horizon to well
below the 'normal' horizon level. The result will be a sky
that really towers over the foreground and imposes more
strongly on the entire picture.
There are probably millions of other examples of great
photos that were taken outside the framework of the Rule Of
Thirds. As I said at the start, all rules are made to be
broken. That does not mean that photographers should not
know the rule and practice it. There is no harm in breaking
with convention. The important thing is that you do it
knowingly and for a reason, to make your photos more
effective. Breaking the rules is a lot more fun when you
understand the rules you are breaking.
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To see the Rule Of Thirds in action see Andrew Goodall's
nature photography at http://www.naturesimage.com.au . If
you found these tips helpful, Andrew has released two top
selling ebooks which have already helped thousands of
beginners learn the art and skills of good photography. To
learn even more, sign up to Andrew's email
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