"Rule" 1: The Rule of Thirds

Here's my first in what will hopefully be a series of posts on some of the "rules" of photography. I want to show how both following and breaking these rules can yield some good results. Here goes:

The rule of thirds is a great compostional "rule" that goes something like this:

Imagine a set of lines dividing the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. As you get ready to take a picture, place important elements of your composition where these lines intersect. As well as using the intersections you can arrange areas into bands occupying a third of the surface. You can also decide to place important elements along the imaginary lines.

Here's an example that roughly follows that guideline. The great blue heron's open mouth is roughly at one of the intersections, as is the reflection of its head on the water. The eye tends to look at more of the image when points of visual interest are placed in areas that follow the rule of thirds.

Now, that "rule" is hardly carved in stone. There are images that look better when the subject material is placed in the center, and there are times when following the rule makes images less interesting...

The sunset below violates the rule of thirds; the subject matter is not at an intersecting point, the horizon does not follow one of the imaginary grid lines, etc. But the sun sprites are interesting, and they draw your eye into the the image. The photo was taken along a lake shore, where there were no other interesting elements to incorporate into the composition.

If the rule of thirds was applied here, there would be a very neat sun strategically placed, but the image would be boring. How do I know? Well, when I took this photo I also took one following the rule of thirds. I kep this one, and the other one wound up going to the digital image graveyard.

The moral of the story: Rules are important. Don't forget to learn them, don't forget to follow them, and most-important - don't forget to break them! You might just like the results. Remember if you're not having fun when you're out shooting, you're probably doing something wrong... Happy Monday. http://www.flickr.com/ucfgrad1999 for more pics.