How does the rule of thirds work in photos and videos?
I’m often asked this question. It’s very important to understand the rule of thirds to give emotion to your images. It’s not necessary to use it 100%, but it will greatly help the rendering of your images.
Introduction to the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds invites you to consider your photos as divided into horizontal and vertical thirds:
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| Lines of force and highlights in landscape and portrait, 3:2 format. |
- Horizontal and vertical lines mark the thirds, and are called lines of force.
- The points at intersections are the highlights.
It was John Thomas Smith who first formalized this rule, the principle being to leave one third of the image to one element, and the other 2 thirds to another. Element in the broadest sense of the word, most often the main subject and its environment, but it can also be an opposition of luminosity, shape, color, etc.
Application examples
The rule of thirds isn’t confined to photography; it’s also found in painting, film, advertising and more… it’s a powerful and much-used principle. Here, I’d like to take a look at some well-known works, to familiarize you with this rule. You can have fun imagining the same images, but framed in the middle, as they would lose a great deal of expressiveness.
Examples of the rule of thirds in painting
Starting with a blank canvas, the painter is free to compose his paintings as he wishes, and the frequent use of the rule of thirds proves, if proof were needed, its aesthetic virtues.
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This landscape by Van Gogh is a typical example of the use of the rule of thirds:
- Subject: the sky in the upper 2/3, the ground in the lower 1/3.
- Color: blue vs. green
Here it’s the sky that comes to the fore, with a special place for the big cloud in the upper left third.
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In this painting by Toulouse Lautrec, it’s the subject (the kiss) that is emphasized.
The environment (the bed) frames the figures in right and bottom thirds. We have a double opposition: of subjects and colors.
Examples of the rule of thirds in cinema
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This image is taken from Drive. Here, the gaze follows the upper line of force, the arm hugs the lower third, and the eye is placed on a strong point. The image is read from left to right, with the viewer’s gaze following that of the actor, directed towards the road.
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Say hello to Private Whale, in Full Metal Jacket. Placing the character on the right allows us to play with the vanishing line, which concludes on the left third. Here too, the eye is focused on a strong point.
There’s also a contrast in luminosity, with the right third brighter than the other 2 thirds.
Examples of the rule of thirds in photography
You can take a look at galleries of the greatest photographersthey don’t hesitate to exploit this rule.
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In this famous photo, Capa has chosen to place the figure on the left third, with the head (and therefore the supposed bullet hole) positioned on a strong point. The right-hand section is empty, leaving us to imagine the bullet’s trajectory. The ground occupies a third of the photo, with the sky taking center stage.
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As with the protagonists, the city is offered up to our gaze, mobilizing the right two-thirds.
The railing makes do with the lower third.
Here too, there is a distribution of luminosity according to the thirds.
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A portrait by Steve McCurry, a specialist if ever there was one. In portrait mode, then, with the eyes towards the strong line at the top (not quite ON the line, but the rule of thirds is not to the nearest cm).
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I’ll end with a photo by Burnett, where the action is located in the lower left third, the subject is placed on a strong point, and the ground/ground divide is 1/3 / 2/3.
Note the use of a tilt-shift lens, and the zone of sharpness is limited to the subject, which doesn’t spoil anything. A first observation: you don’t have to be a geometer to use the rule of thirds, it remains an indication that can suffer from approximations withoutharming the photo. Don’t forget that it’s the eye that decides, not the brain.
Typical applications of the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds naturally applies in very specific cases.
Landscape
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The idea is to place the horizon on a third, the lower third to highlight the sky, the upper third to highlight the earth.
Note that not centering the horizon can lead to problems with wide-angle distortion, which exaggerates perspectives. |
Portrait
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In the case of a profile, choosing to place the face on the left third gives the impression that the subject is leaning towards the future, while the right third gives the impression that the subject is leaning towards the past . This is because a photo is read from left to right. In the case of a portrait photo, the eyes are typically placed on the top third. |
Scene of life
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Very useful if you want to highlight the subject and its environment, place your subject on a third or even on a strong point and take advantage of the other 2 thirds to develop the context. |
Subject in motion
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When a subject is in motion, it’s a good idea to leave a free field in the direction of movement. In our minds, the character will be moving in this direction, which accentuates the image’s dynamics. Classically, the subject occupies one third of the image, with the space in the direction of movement occupying the remaining 2 thirds. |
The rule in practice
Experienced photographers don’t really need any visual cues to play with thirds; with time, things become intuitive. This section is dedicated to beginners. First of all, you can check whether your camera’s viewfinder, or screen, offers todisplay a grid. If so, it is likely to offer a grid in thirds (this is the case for compacts and bridges, SLRs generally don’t have this kind of gadget).
All you have to do then is activate it and use it as a framing aid.
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| Displaying a grid of third parties on screen |
If you don’t have such a grid, you can use the autofocus collimators and/or the autofocus zone delimiter.
To find out where the thirds are in your viewfinder, I’ve provided a grid in the format 3:2 or 4:3display it in full screen and aim with your SLR, you’ll now know where these famous thirds are. Here, for example, are the positions of the lines of force for the Canon 650D and Nikon D7000:
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| Position of lines of force in relation to collimators |
One of the difficulties in applying the rule is not to interfere with focusing: you may wish to map with a cross-hair collimator that is not necessarily level with the subject, or you may choose to place the subject very off-center, even beyond the autofocus zone.
In this case, you’ll need to focus, lock the autofocus with the dedicated button (“AF lock” function), reframe and then finally release the shutter.
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| Examples of focus lock buttons |
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Source: http://www.la-photo-en-faits.com/2013/06/la-regle-des-tiers-en-photographie.html