What is Rule of Thirds? And How to Use it in Photos?

If you aren't familiar with the rule of thirds when it comes to photography, then you may be opened up to a whole new world of analyzing visual media. This notion was invented by artist John Thomas Smith in 1797, in relation to paintings. He, in turn, was trying to keep up with a visual lesson by painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was advising artists to create imbalances using perceived brightnesses and focal points in an image that can be divisible into.

What is the rule of thirds in photography composition?

The rule of thirds, also known as the nine zone grid. It is dividing your frame into nine equal rectangles. You can do this by creating two vertical and two horizontal lines. The four lines will intersect at four points. These are the points where your point of interests should be. You can do this on your camera and field monitor. Most digital cameras and FEELWORLD monitor have an option to add the rule of thirds grid onto the screen.

How to Use Points of Interest

The relationship between negative space(It refers to the space around the main subject in your photo.) and the subject creates a natural focal point. By default, the viewer looks at the intersection points. Placing points of interest at one of these points balance your image. This also creates more tension, energy, and interest in the photograph. Now let's see some examples.

Example: landscapes and portraits

When taking a picture of a landscape, it’s natural to want to center the horizon in the frame. However, pictures often look better if the horizon falls on the upper or lower horizontal dividing line. If the focus of your image is on land (i.e. mountains, buildings), the horizon should fall near the upper third and if the focus is the sky (i.e. sunsets, sunrises), the horizon should fall near the lower third. Here is an example of the rule of thirds for a landscape photo. The focus is on the land area rather than the sky so the bottom two-thirds of the photograph is filled with land and the top third is the sky.

Here is an example of a rule of thirds portrait. As you can see, the eyes are lined up with the upper horizontal line and each eye is where the upper horizontal line intersects with a vertical line.

Break the rule

As with all rules (at least in photography), the rule of thirds doesn't apply in every situation, and sometimes breaking it can result in a much more eye-catching, interesting photo. Experiment and test out different compositions even if they go against any "rules" you've learned. However, learn to use the rule of thirds effectively before you try to break it - that way you can be sure you're doing so in order to get a better composition, rather than just for the sake of it, especially for the beginners.

The nine grid is widely used when shooting and filming, if you need a field monitor with this function, FEELWORLD monitor is a good choice.