The Rule of Thirds

When speaking about landscape photography, we frequently encounter a lot of so-called "rules" to follow to get the best images.  Nothing is more frequently stressed than the Rule of Thirds.  But what is it?  And when should we follow it?

Let’s suppose your scene has a single dominant element in it, a mountain peak, an old weathered windmill, a gnarled and leafless tree in winter, for instance.  Where should you position that element within your viewfinder?  One approach is to divide your rectangular viewfinder into roughly thirds both vertically and horizontally, the “Rule of Thirds.”  The “sweet” spot for the focal point is said to lie at the intersection of two of the lines that divide up the rectangle.  

The head of this red-tail hawk is positioned roughly at the sweet spot according to the Rule of Thirds, which makes the composition more compelling.

There are other “rules” that can be used to divide up the rectangle as well.  The ancient Greeks developed a formula for expressing the dominant focal point, known as the Golden Ratio or Golden Mean.  The space inside the photo’s frame can also be divided up using diagonal lines or intersecting triangles. 

There is a lot of debate in some segments of the photographic community about what is the most appropriate ratio to use, the Golden Mean or the Rule of Thirds, but for most of us, choosing to position the key point of interest at one of the one-thirds points will result in fine photographic compositions.  In any case, like all photographic guidelines, this one can and should be bent or broken when creative opportunities avail themselves. 

I'm nearing completion of a book that covers this and other topics concerning landscape photography.  It's titled Creative Composition for Landscape Photography: A Visual Guide to Improving Your Photographs.  It will be available exclusively in a Kindle edition on Amazon.com and should be published within the next few weeks.  In the meantime, I'll be posting other tips taken from the book here, so be sure to check back for more.

Norm