Rule of Thirds: Photography Tip

Welcome back to the Photography Tip Series!  The first one called Framing Your Subject talks about looking for natural frames while taking photos and this one is about where to position your subject for a more interesting persepctive.

Here is another photography tip in the series which many people probably know about, but just in case you don't or would like a refresher let's talk about The Rule of Thirds.

The Rule of Thirds is meant to be broken but it is also something to keep in mind when setting up your shot. Do you see where the bouquet is in the photo above?  It's in the left 3rd of the photo, and 2/3 of the way down. 

Photos can be split into thirds horizontally and vertically.

Your eye appreciates seeing subjects at these intersections.  Yes, some photos look great centered but it's good to mix it up a little. The subject doesn't need to be at the point where the lines meet, it could just be on one of the lines.

Do you see the horizon is not directly in the middle of the photo?  It lies closer to the bottom third.

When doing a head shot, it's good to get the eyes at the top intersections of the lines.  I probably should have had him tilt his head  slightly upward as the top line is probably just above his eyebrows.

Here's 6 month old Nya with her eyes in the top third. And below, she's lined up in the center but her eyes are on the left third.

You can see that this photo also follows the Frame Your Subject rule from last time.

Hopefully that gives you some inspiration for the week :)  Have a good one and let me know if you have any questions!

Love,
Louise