What is the Rule Of Thirds

I mentioned in my overview of composition that one guideline is called the Rule Of Thirds and this involves dividing the image into a 3 by 3 grid like this:

 Rule Of Thirds, centrally positioned

 You can see in this example that the windmill is placed in the centre of the frame. This goes against the rule of thirds which says that you should put the main object in the image on one of the dividing lines or the intersecting lines.

This next image applies the Rule of Thirds which is meant to be a more eye pleasing image.

 Rule Of Thirds, positioned on the thirds

If you can ignore the grid lines, see which you think is the better image and let me know if you agree with the Rule of Thirds.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 11:23 am and is filed under Composition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “What is the Rule Of Thirds”

  1. Photography Task #1 - Composition · Photography Basics says on September 20th, 2007 at 4:34 pm :

    [...] So the first task will test your eye for composition and the Rule of Thirds. [...]

  2. konini says on September 27th, 2007 at 10:54 pm :

    Cool - thanks a lot. Like most people I have always put the object in the middle!

  3. Noxide says on January 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am :

    I get the rule of thirds, but why is it so? Why is it more pleasing to not have the main object in the centre?

  4. Garry says on January 24th, 2008 at 10:40 am :

    The rule is very much a subjective one. Some people may prefer the image to be in the centre and sometimes it is better to have the image that way, but generally, the composition is more pleasing to have the main focul point off centre. As for why? Well, that’s a good question, and to be honest I don’t know if there is any science behind it. Most people like to be drawn into the picture with the composition, the term ‘leading the eye’ is used a lot, and to lead the eye into the picture to get the main area of interest, having it off centre does work better… for most people. It’s worth trying to compare images, and take some yourself of the same subject and just see what sort of compositions look right, and which don’t look quite right in your mind. More often than not, an image that complies to the rule of thirds will sit better in your mind than one that is centrally placed.

  5. Holl says on February 27th, 2008 at 5:57 pm :

    I rather have the main target in the middle, it stands out more.

  6. How I got the shot #2 | Photography Basics says on April 17th, 2008 at 3:02 pm :

    [...] in the picture, but the tricky thing was, where to place it in the frame. Should I comply to the Rule Of Thirds and position it more off centre and lower down? Should I include more sky or more grass? Should I [...]

  7. Han Cheng says on May 20th, 2008 at 7:33 pm :

    Some people like to see the subject right smack in the center of the photograph. I can’t understand their thoughts.

  8. Cindy Sikkema says on August 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm :

    I agree with the rule of thirds. The photo with the windmill to the side seems to work better because your eye focuses not only on the windmill, but on the surroundings too so you take in more of the photograph.

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