Photograph Tip (The "Rule of Thirds")

The "Rule of Thirds"

The rule of thirds is a way of describing where to place focal points in a photograph.

Focal points are the areas of interest in a photograph. If you are taking a portrait, the area of interest is the person's eyes. If you are taking a landscape it could be a tree in the foreground.

Here is a photography tip - do not put the areas of interest in the middle of the photograph.

Photographs work better when the area of interest are placed off center.
How far off center?

There is an old rule of thumb to guide you on this.
Imagine a grid drawn over your photograph that divides it into thirds, like a tic-tac-toe grid.

Now, picture that middle square in the grid. The four corners of that square mark the locations of your areas of interest.
Now move your point of interest away from the center of your photographs and onto the "thirds".

Start to do that and you will be well on the way to mastering this simple, but powerful photographic technique!