The rule of thirds in photography is the first basic rule taught to all those who are learning photography at elementary level. The rule of thirds is applied to get perfect composition in the photos being captured.
Definition of the RULE OF THIRDS:
Although one can easily get the perfect definition of the rule of thirds on Wikipedia, here is a more concise and intelligible definition of the rule…
“According to the rule of thirds, while framing a shot, viewing through the camera LCD or DSLR view-finder, divide your picture into nine equal parts formed by two grid lines, two of which run horizontally while the remaining two run vertically. Now adjust your camera in such a way that the subject of interest lies exactly on any of these grid lines or on their point of intersection”
A picture perfectly composed with the help of this rule interacts with the viewer vibrantly. Now that doesn’t mean that one has to strictly follow this rule every time while framing shots to get great pictures. This rule is just to obtain great compositions in the photos which is the key essence if you are framing shots professionally.
Some examples of THE RULE OF THIRDS:
In the above example illustrating the rule of thirds, our subject of interest is the swing and the track on which it slides. Hence we position our camera in such a way that these two elements (the swing and the track) lie on any of these grid lines (here both of these elements lie on vertical grid lines). The composition would have been far better if the swing and the railing lied on the point of intersection of these grid lines.
In the above example illustrating the rule of thirds, our subject of interest is the swing and the track on which it slides. Hence we position our camera in such a way that these two elements (the swing and the track) lie on any of these grid lines (here both of these elements lie on vertical grid lines). The composition would have been far better if the swing and the railing lied on the point of intersection of these grid lines.
In this another example of the rule of thirds, the elements of interest includes the handle and the adjacent wooden frames junction. Hence the camera is positioned such that the grid lines lie on these two elements (the lower horizontal lie on the handle while the second vertical lie on the adjacent junction). I hope that after going through this post you have gained the basic knowledge of the rule of thirds in photography.