• Most images from an amateur photographer are centered• Artistically there are composition elements, such as lines, points, etc that define an image•Photographs work better when the area (or areas) of interest are placed off center. And this is where the rule of thirds comes in • Divide your image into 9 sections•Place areas along these lines• Even if not done in the shot, can be done in editing process later

• In portrait photography place people’s eyes and heads on the horizontal lines depending on how close up you are shooting

• Use the vertical grid lines for things like trees, waterfalls, buildings, or wider shot of a person with a background behind them

• In landscape photography use the horizontal grid lines for things like horizons and where water meets land

How to use Rule of Thirds specifically in your landscape photography

• Avoid placing the horizon line of a photograph directly in the center of the image. Putting the horizon line 1/3 of the way from the top or 1/3 of the way from the bottom creates a more attractive composition.• By placing the horizon line at the top third will focus your image on the foreground interest• By placing the horizon line at the bottom third will reduce focus on foreground and send the viewers eyes to the background and sky.• So when composing your image ask yourself, “How do I want my viewers eyes to scan the image when they see my picture?”

Top 1/3 line, so focus Is on beach leading to the people.

Bottom 1/3 line, so viewer scans the sky heavily, and peopleseemed jammed in compared to the sky

Horizon is centeredso eyes rest in the middle of frame and provide no movementfor the viewer to capture interest

• Try to get specific focal points onto the corners of that middle square

• DON’T BE A PERFECTIONIST – Your subjects of interest do not need to be perfectly along these lines, but generally close

• After mastering this simple technique, BREAK THE RULE

• Suggestions: Split the frame into only 4 sections and at rare times center

• For this weeks photo session you will focus on using the Rule of Thirds – But you must show how this rule applies by: A) First taking a shot of your subject centered B) Then taking another shot of the same subject using the rule of thirds.• Save both images in your S:/YourName/Photosessions/RuleofThirds. Call the centered image “TitleA” and the other image showing the rule of thirds “TitleB”.• You will need 10 image pairs (so 20 photos total) to complete this assignment