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The rule of thirds is a simple way to make your photographs more visually interested. While many believe that a good photo has its subject dead center, it has been proven that images whose central subject falls into one of six special spots, are more interesting than those whose subject is in the center. To find these six spots, we use the rule of thirds. This rule states that if you draw three vertical lines at equal spacing across your image and then three horizontal ones, where these lines meet are the most pleasing place to put a subject. Imagine a tic tac toe board being drawn across your image and try to place your subject at one of the intersections.

There are a few more basic rules of design and photography that expand on the idea of the rule of thirds. One for example is the idea that you should give your subject a place to move. Imagine a shot of a man jogging. While a photograph with him directly in the center may not be a bad shot, it would be much more interesting to have him on one side of the image with a road stretching across to the other. This will allow room for the viewer to imagine him running. It gives the photograph movement and makes it much more pleasing to the eye. This technique is not only great for sports, but also for animals and nature. Giving an animal room to run, or a water fall's water a river to flow down makes a photograph more natural for the viewer to look into. It will keep the eye on the image longer and will create more of a lasting impression on the viewer.

Another expansion of the rule of thirds is the fact that the human eye does not naturally enter the page at the center. It has been discovered that it actually enters just a little above and to the left of the center. So by placing a face or central subject at this location, you can drastically enhance the effect of the overall composition. Also keep in mind that the human eye follows the content. For example, if you place someones face in the right bottom corner and the person is looking towards the right, the eye will naturally follow where the subject is looking and their eye will leave the page. It would be much more effective to have the subject located in the right hand corner to be looking to the left and upwards, this would draw the viewer's eye back into the photograph and away from the edges.

The rule of thirds is a fantastic way to keep your images interesting and dynamic. While an image featuring a centered subject may not be bad, having one with a subject that stays in the quadrants set out by the rule of thirds can make your work truly stand out and be considered great photography. Good Luck!

Learn more about this author, Lindsey Stell.
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