Garry Black Photography

OTTAWA WORKSHOP

THE SO CALLED "RULE OF THIRDS"

When composing your photographs a few rules of composition will help. By learning some basic rules you will start to see your compositions improving. After awhile your eye will become so trained that you will be using the rules without even thinking about them. I photograph so automatically that I don't even think about the rules, although I use them most of the time in my compositions.

The primary rule of composition is THE GOLDEN MEAN, sometimes referred to as "The Rule Of Thirds". Artists and architects from an early time recognized its importance in design and applied to their work. It has been used through the ages, so there is no reason that photographers shouldn't use it to improve their compositions.

When you take a picture area and divide it into "thirds" - horizontally and vertically, where the lines intersect in the picture area is a "Golden Mean". Which according to the rule, is the best spot in which to place your main subject or object of interest.

Each box illustrates a picture or viewfinder divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Where these lines cross is the "Golden Mean" indicated by Blue.

You don't have to be precise with the placement of your subject; a close proximity to these imaginary lines will work. A strong horizontal line, such as a fence, you will want to put on one of the horizontal lines or close to it. A strong vertical line such as a tree trunk would be placed near or on one of the vertical lines. Placing either one of these strong elements in the centered position makes the design appear static.

Which brings up the problem of the "Bull's Eye". This is what happens when you place the subject right "smack" in the center of the picture. This should be avoided at all times, unless you have a definite reason for doing it. When the subject is placed in the center of the picture frame the eye will go in to the picture and stay in the center of the frame looking at the "Bull's Eye" subject, and will not move around in the picture, making it an uninteresting photograph. If you are tempted to place your subject in the center for whatever reason - DON'T DO IT! If you feel compelled, then place it just Off Center, even if it is just a little Off Center it will improve the picture's composition and not give you that "Bull's Eye" picture.

As in any creative medium rules are made to be broken. I do believe it is important to learn the rules even if you end up breaking them. When I break the rules in my compositions there is a reason, or something I want to say with it. But while you are learning I hope you will practice some of these rules and see how much it improves seeing your composition in your viewfinder.