Downtown Lens: Rule of Thirds

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Good composition is one of the key elements to making a good photograph. Great photos aren’t just about what’s in view, but also how the shot is arranged. One simple technique that anyone can understand and master is the rule of thirds.

Using the rule of thirds is easy. When you look through your viewfinder, picture an overlay in the form of a tic-tac-toe board – two equally spaced lines perpendicular to two more equally spaced lines.

Use the intersection of these imaginary lines to place your subject and horizon. In the photo above, note that the house is not centered, but is instead off to one side. Note also that the horizon is not in the center of the frame, but is down in the lower third of the picture.

You can also apply this technique to portraits. Instead of having a mugshot-like photo with your subject centered in the frame, try having them off to one side like the photo of the governator below.

If you begin to employ this technique you will instantly see an improvement in the quality and professionalism of your photographs. There is nothing that screams holiday snapshot louder than 50 shots with the horizon perfectly centered.

Of course rules are meant to be broken. Don’t feel you have to shoot every photo with the subject and horizon exactly on the third lines. But give the rule of thirds a try, master it, and then break it when you feel like being different.

As always, the most important thing about photography is to have fun and express yourself. So give the rule of thirds a try on your next photo outing and post your results on this thread using our new reader photo feature.

Have fun, and happy shooting!

This post is the third part in a weekly series entitled Downtown Lens in which I will discuss a photograph and the technique that relates to it.