The Omniscient Rule of Thirds — Adam Leahy Photography

The biggest kahuna in photography composition: THE Rule OF Thirds. You can't play on the teeter totter of framing up a thoughtfully planned photograph without a master's degree in the rule of thirds. Yeah! I had to look up how to spell teeter totter. It's not a set of words often used in scholarly writing, too much. Haha! Jk. I actually have a bachelors degree in English, seriously, ya gotta know all the rules in order to break them just right. No more nonsense... after the photo below I'm gonna teach you MY rule of thirds.

The Rule of Thirds, the subject is part way between the center of the image and the corner.

The rule of thirds is a balancing concept that allows for a secondary subject to have some space and (secondary) emphasis. In the case above, the main subject (the lookout tower) is pushed down and to the right. This allows some space in the image, to appreciate the craggy mountain peak's edge. There, I said it. No grids, no exact placements, no voodoo or senseless made up sh!+. The main subject is the lookout station, the secondary subject is the knifelike, rocky, mountain edge.

Notice how the image above is more about the lookout station, than the mountain ridge. Don't ask the question which is better and worse. Neither is better or worse, they are different. The centered image pulls in closer and allows the viewer to appreciate the lookout station more. The image at the beginning allows you to see more of the context in which the lookout station is in. When I was in this location, my thought was, "how do I capture this so people can understand the awesomeness of this lookout station?" In the true definition of awesomeness, it really only applies to the biggest natural places and happenings, like the Grand Canyon and the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Those things are and were awesome. At least I thought that way, until I saw how the Swiss tunnel, and train and build in the Alps. WTAF. My goal in this image, and the reason I framed it with the lookout station rule of thirds bottom right, was to give people the sense of how this structure was built on the razor edge of this mountain peak. I showed as much as I could at bottom right before the rock edge turns to snow. It might of been nice to show more of the peak above, but then the station started looking too small. So, this was my best effort, at the time, standing in the snow, in my amazement of the Swiss landscape and ingenuity.

In conclusion, the rule of thirds needs no grids, or lines, or intersection points. It's not magic or part of the illuminati. It is just a way to thoughtfully give room in your composition for more than one thing. The exact placement of your subject depends on what it is, how big it is, and what the other things in the image are. If it is a person, the rule of thirds placement is for their head, or if it's a close up then one of their eyes. We photographers, after toiling at our craft for a while, are struck with the desire to say more in one image. Thus, the rule of thirds. Push your main subject toward the corner to give some space and emphasis to something else in the image.

Alright haters... bring it on.

Rule of Thirds, Part 2: Some examples.

In a portrait the face should be in the rule of thirds position.

If the portrait is close up then, one of the eyes should be in the rule of thirds position.  Sometimes the thing in the picture you are allowing space for is just the beautiful, painterly, blurry background color (bokeh). — If the portrait is close up then, one of the eyes should be in the rule of thirds position. Sometimes the thing in the picture you are allowing space for is just the beautiful, painterly, blurry background color (bokeh).

The head of an animal should be the thing in the rule of thirds position, not their tail;)

This is a sapsucker, not a woodpecker;)  The background blur to left is incredible, like a water color painting, and deserves some space as a secondary subject of appreciation.  If the sapsucker is centered, it is harder to see and appreci… — This is a sapsucker, not a woodpecker;) The background blur to left is incredible, like a water color painting, and deserves some space as a secondary subject of appreciation. If the sapsucker is centered, it is harder to see and appreciate the blurred tree-scape behind.

Pushing the subject to top right allows more room down below to build the pattern of the fence.

Rule of thirds allows the symmetry to be tweaked a bit, adding interest.

Rule of thirds here allows the line to extend further down, making a more dramatic leading line.

Rule of thirds bottom left allows the viewer to see how the sun rays go through the fog and trees, showing the subtle detail in the fence, trees and sky.