Beginners rule of Thirds

Understanding the Rule of Thirds

Rule of thirdsThe rule of thirds appears as early as 1845 as a rule for proportioning scenic paintings.The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photography and other visual arts such as painting. The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. Proponents of this technique claim that aligning a photograph with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the feature would.The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.The application of the rule of thirds to photographs is considered by many to make them more aesthestically pleasing and professional-looking. The rule of thirds can be applied by lining up subjects with the guiding lines, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line instead of the center, or allowing linear features in the photograph to flow from section to section. In addition, many photographers recommend treating any "rule" of composition as more of a guideline, since pleasing photographs can often be made while ignoring one or more such rules.When photographing or filming people, it is common to line the body up with a vertical line, and having the person's eyes in line with a horizontal one. If filming a moving subject, the same pattern is often followed, with the majority of the extra room being in front of the person (the way they are moving).Footnote:What about the rule-of-thirds? I don't think that you have to stop to divide each image into its parts to decide what to put in the frame. By the time you do that, the 'decisive moment' may have passed.

Beginners - Forcusing tips

Photography as an art has never been more exciting orenjoyable. Todays photography enthusiast has manystyles, topics, and tools open to them. Plus, theblending of digital with print makes the craft oftaking photos very versatile. While it is true that taking photos is as simple asrunning out and grabbing a cheap five dollar camera,taking GOOD photos has never been easy. So letsexplore some quick ideas that can help you take photosthat you will be happy to send home. Here are four tips to help. 1. Get a little closer, don't be shy. One of thebiggest mistakes most beginning photographers make isshooting from so far away. They leave too muchdistance between themselves and their subjects.Instead, get up close and personal. Fill up as much ofthe camera frame, with your subject, as you can. Youcan always reshape, trim, and resize a good qualityshot. But you can't continue to blow up a distantsubject and hope that it will come into focus. It justwon't happen. 2. This tip springs directly from #1(above)... focusyour shot on only one subject. Determine what the mainsubject of the photo will be, and catch that image. Try and find the one key subject, person, or event thataccurately portrays the feeling you are trying tocapture. 3. In addition to getting one subject, in your photos,you will want to make the background of the photo assimple as possible. Busy, distracting backgrounds pullthe attention away from the central theme of yourphoto. The subject of your photo is absolutely themost important element, and anything that detracts fromthe subject can ruin your shot. 4. Finally, you want to take your subject out of theexact center of the frame. You do this by using therule of THIRDS. Imagine having a camera lens split into9 equal sized boxes, 3 across and 3 down (like having atic-tac-toe game printed right on your camera lens). Where those "tic-tac-toe" lines cross, should becomethe focusing point of your subject, when you arearranging to take your photo. Based on this tip, every time you compose a shot, themain subject of your photo should be located primarilyon one of these "THIRD" lines. These are just four very basic tips and strategies tohelp improve your photos. As you know, photographyskills can always be improved. In fact, mostprofessional photographers exhibit a life long passionfor learning new techniques, photography angles, andphoto inspirations.