A few days ago I saw a very nice post by Helen and her post directed me to a wonderful post by Brenda on “the rule of thirds“. A rule which is used to create a well balanced photograph. After all it is important to know where to place our object(s) in the frame.
Taken from Brenda’s text, “the rule of thirds is the element of composition that begins with dividing an image into thirds, horizontally and vertically, creating nine imagined sections. ”
On Brenda’s post I thoroughly enjoyed a video by Saurav Sinha about composition.
The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines than your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. (https://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds/
After going through the theory, I am presenting four images taken at different time points with different purposes.
In my first image, I wanted to include the colourful background (which was created due to clear sky and green branches)
In the second image, the object is crocus and the idea was to present crocuses from a close distance but also to give a view of crocus field.
One more image using the rule and adding some background.
Lastly an example where the photo is centred.
Some interesting information:
The rule of thirds was first written down by John Thomas Smith in 1797. In his book Remarks on Rural Scenery, Smith quotes a 1783 work by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in which Reynolds discusses, in unquantified terms, the balance of dark and light in a painting. John Thomas Smith then continues with an expansion on the idea, naming it the “Rule of thirds”
Smith’s conception of the rule is meant to apply more generally than the version commonly explained today, as he recommends it not just for dividing the frame, but also for all division of straight lines, masses, or groups. On the other hand, he does not discuss the now-common idea that intersections of the third-lines of the frame are particularly strong or interesting for composition.
Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
I hope I have done justice and created interesting images. I would love to read any comments.
Thanks for reading.
Nice, thank you for the information.
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Thank you so much Shruti.
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I enjoyed these images…I especially liked the use of color in your images, the bokeh in the background, and the source of “rule of thirds.”
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Thank you for inspiring me with your detailed posts Brenda.
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I have no argument with the rule of thirds, but I just use my eye, and I suspect you do as well
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🙂 You got the point Derrick. Thanks a lot.
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Great post regarding a topic I have written about too! I suggest it be called the ‘formula of thirds’ and believe there are no ‘rules’ in art. After all, it is only 1 of several composition formulas. The ‘golden ratio’ is similar but the center lines are a bit closer to the center instead of equal thirds … closer to what you show here. Then there is the spiral, triangle and centered formulas too!
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Thank you so much Denise for such great reply. I shall check your post for sure.
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heard about this one but like you I use my eye and having a cheap camera I get better focus if the main object is central … love them all but want to take that monkey home … please?
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Even with a simple camera we can use this rule. After practicing for a while I learned how to get depth while using my mobile camera.
And that little master is not just sweet but super clever. He was wild and free but was enjoying the fruits provided for a big money in a zoo.
I will make a separate post on this little one.
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yea, I look forward to that!
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I think you can do this instinctively but it’s a rule that works well if you apply it. Thanks for the reminder. That’s a lovely shot of the monkey 🙂 🙂
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Thanks a lot Jo for visiting my post and appreciating it.
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Oh, what good things you are learning and now you are teaching us! Thank you, Rupali!
Your photos here are wonderful, as always!
I must say! That monkey is a cutie! Love your portrait of him! 🙂
HUGS!!! 🙂
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You are very kind Carolyn, Thank you. I am so happy you take interest in my learning process. The little monkey was not only cute but very clever indeed.
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The illustrations made it simple to understand. Now I will be moer aware before clicking the pics of nature, in particular.
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I am so glad you found it useful. Thanks Anagha for lettin gme know.
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Lovely pictures. I always forget the rule of thirds. I will try to remember! It’s used a lot in papercraft as well, to position elements on handmade cards and scrapbook pages for example.
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Wow, my last memories of paper crafts are from when my son was in kinder garden. Thanks for sharing informaiton and visiting my blog.
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My extremely simple camera has a setting where the grid is displayed all the time. It has really helped me to try different focal points. Thanks for sharing your art. Beautiful pictures!
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Thanks for appreciating and sharing information.
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Nice images! I just finished one course where they covered the rule of thirds. I am an amateur so I had not been exposed to it before.
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I am glad you got some proper training.
I learned about photography through photo challenges and by going through photography blog. I would prefer some training but it’s hard to find which suits my free time.
Thank you for visiting and spending time on my blog. Nice meeting you.
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NYIP. It’s online. They give you 18 months to finish one class. I did one in about 6 months. You do all course reading, quizzes, tests, and submitting photo projects online. The best part for me was submitting photos and having an instructor critique them. They give you an audio file to click on to hear what the instructor says about the photos. I know a lot of people who learn through utube videos and other sources online. I like taking a class because it forced me to stick to it and take it seriously.
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Thank you for the information.
I shall sure think about such courses.
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Nice meeting you too!
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