The Rule of Thirds is a simple composition rule within photography. Following the Rule of Thirds is a great way to train yourself as a photographer to create images that are well balanced and naturally pleasing to the human eye.

Imagine a grid made up of 9 squares in your image. The basic idea behind the rule of thirds says that the subject of an image should be placed along the intersecting lines in a photograph. As the photographer, your job is to imagine the 9 square grid as you take a picture and place your subject along one of the intersecting lines. Here is an example of what the rule of third grid looks like.

Imaging the grid as you shoot will help you to better compose your image and place your subject within your image. In this image, the subject, mom + baby, are placed along the right grid line.

Another theory within the rule of thirds is that your subject should be placed in the center square of the grid. In the below image, the bride and groom (the subject), are in the center square of the image.

Although the Rule of Thirds is a rule of composition, once you master the rule, it can be fun and artistic to not follow the rule of thirds. Once you have mastered the rule, play around with breaking it!

Interested in learning more about photography? Check out my Intro to DSLR Photography Course and learn to use your dslr camera and take better pictures.

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