Friday, June 24, 2011

Rule of Thirds:

For our first challenge, we'll go with a rule that most of us will be familiar with: the rule of thirds.
You mentally divide your photo up into thirds by imagining two lines that cut it into thirds horizontally, and another two lines that cut it into thirds vertically. Like this:



The rule of thirds says that placing the focal point of the picture on one of the points where the lines intersect (instead of centering it) makes for a more interesting, dynamic, inviting picture. Yes, there are many great pictures that break this rule, but in general, your photo will look better if you keep that rule in mind when you compose it. So for objects, place them near the intersections of the lines or on the lines.  If you have a horizon in a landscape, place it either near the bottom or top horizontal line - don't put it right in the center!

Here are some examples of pictures that follow the rule, taken by women from our group:







So for the first challenge, try to take pictures conscious of this rule, and then post them in the "Rule of Thirds" album on the facebook page!

If you  are interested in more info or would like to look at some more examples, go to one of these web pages:

http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/tips/thirds.asp
http://www.hippasus.com/resources/viscomp/RuleThirds.html

posted by Birgit
0 comments at 5:43 PM