The rule of thirds is a compositional rule in photography. Meaning it’s how you position your subject in your photo.
The rule states that an image should be divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. Then your main subject should be placed along these lines or their intersections.
The concept is designed create more interest in the main subject than simply centering the main subject. Some studies have show that we naturally look at one of the intersecting point instead of the center of an image. The rule of thirds is a more natural way of view photos.
Here is an example:
In the above example the tree is located at the intersection. This is a good example of a photo shot with the rule of thirds in mind.
There is also a time to break the rule. Look at what you are photographing. What object or scene do you want the viewer eyes drawn to? Will following the rule of thirds help me or will breaking the rule help me? Generally following the rule of thirds will be your best bet. Only break the rule if you know exactly why it is being broken.
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This is great information. I always try to get my photos to fall in the rule of thirds. Somehow my photos don’t always turn out that great.
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I like your advice here, would you say that it applies to portrait photography as well? I mean, I think people automatically assume that if your taking a photo of a person that it should be centered; however, I like to take photos of weddings and seniors that have a completely different angle.
Yes I believe it normally would apply to portrait photography as well. Some tight head shots look better centered, but in general I believe the rule of thirds should be followed.