My second tip in the Photography Tip series is extremely important and something that comes into play on almost every shot for every photographer whether its a conscious move or not. The first thing I think about when going to take a picture with my Nikon D50 is what many call the Rule Of Thirds. This is essentially the key to having a well balanced shot and will most likely make your photo more interesting. Before I go any further I would like to add that this is not a must for every picture. It will often add a lot of value to your shot, however, some shots may be more suited for breaking this rule. Ok, so the basic principle of this rule is fairly simple.

Imagine breaking the shot into thirds both horizontally and vertically thus leaving you with night parts. This is obviously done in your head while looking at the upcoming shot in your viewfinder.

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So now we have four very important points within our view. You’ll need to use these and the four lines that have been created as a guide for positioning the desired “object” for your shot.

By following this rule you’ll place your point of interest on the intersections or along the lines which should create an effective balance for your photo. When viewing photos the human eye naturally drifts to the intersecting points before the center, which caters to our rule of thirds. As I started getting into photography I felt like I just happened to be following this rule naturally. For those looking for ways to enhance your photos you may want to give this a try.

In order to utilize this rule in your next shot be sure to think about exactly what your point of interest is and what made you want to capture that shot in the first place. I always remind myself that the photo was already there, I just had to find it.

As I mentioned earlier this does not apply to all shots. I often take the same photo a number of different times with different points of interest and event different angles as I’m still learning myself. Sometimes it’s in the editing process that I realize one shot is more interesting than another. If you’re using tools like Adobe Photoshop you can crop any photo so that the rule applies. If you’re a beginner and never followed this rule, definitely experiment with it…if you’re a pro and didn’t know this rule already I would gather that you should check your pro status!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 6:38 pm and is filed under Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.