Welcome to our P52! This project is designed to get you out with your camera once a week in a meaningful way. Each week I will post a prompt for you to consider. The prompts are merely suggestions, and you are free to shoot off topic if you wish. All images posted must be taken by you, be safe for work, and be taken with this project in mind. Please do not post archive photos. For a further discussion of the guidelines, please refer to this thread, and you can find the previous weeks linked there if you missed them. Feel free to join in at any time of the year, and you may go back to missed weeks if you still wish to participate.
Week 21: Rule of Thirds
Welcome back to the P52 for another week. We will be working on the rule of thirds (ROT) this week. This is a compositional technique designed to elevate your photos from a beginner look into something more deliberate and considered.
Those of us of a certain age probably used a lot of cameras that only focused from the center point; as we moved to digital photography, the center focal point was the most accurate, so people continued to use that one primarily. And now, many current cameras have over 400 focal points spread across the frame. How do you know which one to use?? It’s so much easier just to stick with the one in the middle!
On a basic level the rule of thirds divides the image into nine sections. Where the lines dividing each section intersect are considered to be strong areas for the subject of the frame. You do not have to have your subject lined up 100% exactly on the grids, but nearby in a deliberate fashion.
Horizon lines are best placed on a third line; whether it is the top or bottom third depends on how you want the story of your image to read and what you want your viewers to see within the image. Take these three images as an example. The first image is the SOOC crop; we had just gotten settled into our vacation house for the week, and I stepped out on the deck to take a couple of photos; I was not thinking about composition at the time, but just enjoying the view after a long trip in the car. The horizon line - where the water meets the sky is dead center. This leaves the viewer to wonder what the focus of the image is? The sky and clouds? The pier? The people on the beach? The story is very unclear and confusing. Cropping so the horizon is on the top third allows the story of the beachgoers to unfold. There is more visual weight at the bottom of the image, so our eye is drawn there and to all the colorful umbrellas. Cropping the image with the horizon line on the bottom third draws our eye directly to the pier, and the vast sky beyond. The story is very different. One could say that’s simply because we literally cropped out large portions of the image from the original, but that is actually the entire point of cropping - it strengthens our story and tells the viewer where to look and what is important within the frame.
Portraits, too, benefit from cropping to the ROT. Although many headshots seem to be centered, an image is considerably strengthened when the eyes are on the top ROT, even if it isn’t an intersection. Humans are naturally drawn to eyes, and much of the expression of a portrait is told from the eyes, regardless of the position of the mouth.
Putting the action on the ROT also strengthens your image. If there is a sense of movement within the image, place the subject facing the open area. Take this image of my son as an example. Although we cannot see his opponent, we can tell from his gaze and stance that the opponent is being tracked, and the open space in front of my son gives a sense of the ability to move through that space at a moment’s notice. Conversely, in the image of my daughter grooming the horse, she seems a bit hemmed in. The action is on the ROT, but there is a distinct feeling of unsettledness, with the open space behind the horse. This was intentional, however, as this horse is unpredictable and had to be tied in two spots, and the horse itself was uncomfortable with the procedure happening. The viewer is nervous for the equestrian, hoping she isn’t kicked. But with the horse foot and my daughter’s hand on the ROT, the viewer knows just where to look.
Nature images are similarly strengthened using a ROT, and while in general we should try to keep our subject on an intersection, just using one of the entire lines is enough to create some negative space or framing for our subject in a way that goes beyond dead center.
And while this week is about moving away from a full center composition, let’s touch on a couple of instances where a centered comp makes sense. If you are shooting family portraits for hire, many clients want and expect a centered composition. They make sense when grouped in a wall gallery, or for sending out on holiday cards. Clients often don’t understand the artistic reasons for using the ROT and object to “dead space.” Centering these types of images also helps afford you different crop ratios (4:5, 1:1, etc. without risking chopping off part of your subjects). If you have an image that is symmetrical, centering often works well. I’d still note, however, that even within a symmetrical image, you are often able to place the horizon on a third line, preventing a fully dead centered image.
I’ve given a pretty simplified overview of ROT here, but it is easily researched with some google terms, and here’s a well written article that is a bit longer than mine.
Week 21: Rule of Thirds
Welcome back to the P52 for another week. We will be working on the rule of thirds (ROT) this week. This is a compositional technique designed to elevate your photos from a beginner look into something more deliberate and considered.
Those of us of a certain age probably used a lot of cameras that only focused from the center point; as we moved to digital photography, the center focal point was the most accurate, so people continued to use that one primarily. And now, many current cameras have over 400 focal points spread across the frame. How do you know which one to use?? It’s so much easier just to stick with the one in the middle!
On a basic level the rule of thirds divides the image into nine sections. Where the lines dividing each section intersect are considered to be strong areas for the subject of the frame. You do not have to have your subject lined up 100% exactly on the grids, but nearby in a deliberate fashion.
Horizon lines are best placed on a third line; whether it is the top or bottom third depends on how you want the story of your image to read and what you want your viewers to see within the image. Take these three images as an example. The first image is the SOOC crop; we had just gotten settled into our vacation house for the week, and I stepped out on the deck to take a couple of photos; I was not thinking about composition at the time, but just enjoying the view after a long trip in the car. The horizon line - where the water meets the sky is dead center. This leaves the viewer to wonder what the focus of the image is? The sky and clouds? The pier? The people on the beach? The story is very unclear and confusing. Cropping so the horizon is on the top third allows the story of the beachgoers to unfold. There is more visual weight at the bottom of the image, so our eye is drawn there and to all the colorful umbrellas. Cropping the image with the horizon line on the bottom third draws our eye directly to the pier, and the vast sky beyond. The story is very different. One could say that’s simply because we literally cropped out large portions of the image from the original, but that is actually the entire point of cropping - it strengthens our story and tells the viewer where to look and what is important within the frame.
Portraits, too, benefit from cropping to the ROT. Although many headshots seem to be centered, an image is considerably strengthened when the eyes are on the top ROT, even if it isn’t an intersection. Humans are naturally drawn to eyes, and much of the expression of a portrait is told from the eyes, regardless of the position of the mouth.
Putting the action on the ROT also strengthens your image. If there is a sense of movement within the image, place the subject facing the open area. Take this image of my son as an example. Although we cannot see his opponent, we can tell from his gaze and stance that the opponent is being tracked, and the open space in front of my son gives a sense of the ability to move through that space at a moment’s notice. Conversely, in the image of my daughter grooming the horse, she seems a bit hemmed in. The action is on the ROT, but there is a distinct feeling of unsettledness, with the open space behind the horse. This was intentional, however, as this horse is unpredictable and had to be tied in two spots, and the horse itself was uncomfortable with the procedure happening. The viewer is nervous for the equestrian, hoping she isn’t kicked. But with the horse foot and my daughter’s hand on the ROT, the viewer knows just where to look.
Nature images are similarly strengthened using a ROT, and while in general we should try to keep our subject on an intersection, just using one of the entire lines is enough to create some negative space or framing for our subject in a way that goes beyond dead center.
And while this week is about moving away from a full center composition, let’s touch on a couple of instances where a centered comp makes sense. If you are shooting family portraits for hire, many clients want and expect a centered composition. They make sense when grouped in a wall gallery, or for sending out on holiday cards. Clients often don’t understand the artistic reasons for using the ROT and object to “dead space.” Centering these types of images also helps afford you different crop ratios (4:5, 1:1, etc. without risking chopping off part of your subjects). If you have an image that is symmetrical, centering often works well. I’d still note, however, that even within a symmetrical image, you are often able to place the horizon on a third line, preventing a fully dead centered image.
I’ve given a pretty simplified overview of ROT here, but it is easily researched with some google terms, and here’s a well written article that is a bit longer than mine.
