My favourite tip for taking better photos
This is and except from one of Bristol Photography Lessons most popular courses – Colour , Light and Composition.
The Rule of Thirds and how to use it
The Rule of Thirds (ROT) is my go to composition device.
I still use it and when I look around at photographs, movies and on the TV it’s clear that it certainly works, it’s use is widespread and therefore important to know. And luckily for us it is also quite simple and straightforward!
So what is the Rule of Thirds?
It is a way of dividing up the image into groups of three and then placing the subject along one of the lines or at the intersections.
You might recognise it in these images of flags, see how some of them are divided into sections of three horizontally or vertically.
It works because it gives a sense of balance.
It is so ubiquitous that there will be a setting for it on your camera phone or DSLR.
It looks like this and you can find it under the settings or menu:
I recommend you leave it on all the time. It is that useful. As a side note the grid is also useful for the following reasons
Make sure your horizons are level - nothing more distracting than a wonky horizon, even if only a couple of degrees off.
Lining up walls and features when composing interior or architecture shots
When composing flat-lays to make sure all elements are lined up and square.
And how do you use it?
Well there are lots of different ways.
Let’s look at the horizontal lines first:
This image was shot on a cold and windy day in Newquay, Cornwall. Using an iPhone 7 and edited in Camera Raw.
So here you can see I have chosen to line up the horizon line with the lower third horizontal line. In hindsight if I would have got a bit lower down with my point of view the surfers heads would have been given more separation from horizon - giving a better and cleaner image.
In this photograph, again shot on an iPhone, in Aberdeen, Scotland. I have used the vertical line as a guide to place my subjects. Giving a bit of space on the left hand side of the image,
And another image shot using my phone, this time in my local park in Bristol in the spring.
As you can see I have composed this image so that the main point of interest - the sunflower, is on the intersection of the horizontal and vertical third. As a bonus point I have also utilised the worms eye view to make a dramatic composition.
Well there you go. Practice makes perfect, so start applying this rule till it becomes intuitive. And then you can start breaking the rules or even making up your own.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the form below. It would be great to hear from you.
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