The Rule of Thirds
Rules of composition have been formulated to aid designers to create harmonious images that are pleasing to the eye. The most common of these rules are the ‘golden section’ and the ‘rule of thirds.
The Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds
The golden section is the name given to a traditional system of dividing the frame into unequal parts that date back to the time of Ancient Greece. The rule of thirds is the simplified modern equivalent. Try to visualize the viewfinder as having a grid that divides the frame into three equal segments, both vertically and horizontally. Several photographers and artists use these lines and their joint points as key positions to place vital components inside the image. The Rule of Thirds
Examine the composition grid diagram. It contains nine zones. These zones are created by dividing the frame into thirds vertically (the 2 gray lines) and horizontally (the 2 dotted lines). By thinking about composition in terms of those zones, you will find it easier to induce a sense of how it works. The Rule of Thirds
Each zone need not produce a unique impact in order to be doing its job. Most of the zones may be precisely alike, with just one or 2 doing something totally different. When that is the case, the zones that are the differences stand out more clearly in contrast to their surroundings: a lighted area in a photograph that is mostly dark, for instance, or a figure standing in the midst of a blank space.
Sometimes, on the opposite hand, there is so much happening in a photograph that it’s hard to determine what to appear at first. In this case, it helps tremendously to “anchor” the foremost vital objects by placing them. The Rule of Thirds
Breaking the rules
Designers who are awake to these rules usually break them by deliberately inserting the elements of the image nearer to the edges of the frame. This can usually be effective in creating ‘dynamic tension’ where a lot of formal styles aren’t required.
Balance
In addition to content, a range of visual components such as line, color, and tone usually influence a photographer’s framing of a picture. The eye naturally or intuitively seeks to form a ‘symmetry’ or a harmonious relationship between these components within the frame. When this is achieved the image is said to have a sense of ‘balance’. The most dominant component of balance is visual weight created by the distribution of light and dark tones inside the frame. To frame a large dark tone on one side of the image and not look to place tones of equal visual weight on the other side will create an imbalance in the image. An image that’s not balanced may seem significant on one side. Visual tension is created within a picture that’s not balanced. Balance, although calming to the eye, isn’t always necessary to form an effective image.
The Rule of Thirds
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This post contains the content of the book Photography foundations for art and design the creative photography handbook and 2. Michael_F_O_Brien_Norman_Sibley_The_Photographic_Eye