Photo Tip Tuesday "Rule of thirds"

I'm going to start a new series on the blog.

Every Tuesday I'll post a blog about various photo tips. Most tips can be used on any kind of camera from a simple disposable film camera (if anyone still uses them) to a $25,000 medium format camera.

Today's tip is about composition.

The "rule of thirds" is a guide to help photographers easily compose a pleasing more interesting image. If you look in various magazines or around the web you will find plenty of examples of this "rule".

The idea behind this, is that if you place the main subject in one of the intersecting points or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally

The easiest way to remember this, is picture a tic-tac-toe board through your viewfinder or on your LCD display.

(A side note most digital cameras have an option to turn on a "grid" that will be displayed on your LCD screen to help you align your image).

Now that your imaging a tic-tac-toe board, place the main object that your trying to take a picture of in one of the intersecting points.


For an end result of


Another point to remember is to have your subject moving into the frame or looking into the frame, it will give the subject a sense of movement.

Give it a try the next time you head out to take some shots. Leave a comment below if you think this was helpful or if you have a specific topic you would like covered.