[Composition Tutorial/ Discussion] Rule of thirds and how to set about applying it

[[Geoff Slocock]]

Of course, only some shots will be suitable for cropping so as to "bring on" a rule of thirds style viewpoint or interpretation of a shot.

Here is one example I found of how you can line up elements in a shot, so that you have a possibility for the viewer to see a double rule of thirds interpretation. I guess this way of making a tidied composition just works psychologically. And of course it is only those who are in the know who will know what a rule of thirds interpretation is; otherwise folk will just tend to find the arrangement "pleasing".

Again some folk may be so used to seeing un-cropped images (their never having cropped anything before) that they just may not realise that even a small amount of cropping can sometimes make a shot much more impressive to look at. In the above example you do that lining up by cropping away at edges of your original shot. Don't forget before you do that to do a visual check that horizontals and verticals look right to you; if they don't you should first rotate you shot.

A word of caution, here. There are many compositional devices for improving a shot. The rule of thirds approach, however, will not be best choice to follow in every instance.