The last of my Three Rules for photography concerns positioning. This might be the single most mysterious thing that will make your photo look better than those of people around you. Getting decent light or knowing how to use aperture will help, but even with those perfect, if your positioning sucks then the photo will somehow look, off.
At the core positioning is really easy, and once you grasp it you will understand that you should always consider it and when to throw rules out the window. The execution takes practice and everyone gets it wrong, often. The Rule of Thirds says that there are certain lines and points within a frame that are more important for overall balance than other points. Google “Rule of Thirds” and you will get lists of articles, books and examples going into great detail, the kind of detail I will not go in to because you have better things to do with your time than sit here all day wondering what on earth I am trying to say.
To make things easy, go play with your camera setting. Most cameras have a function that adds lines on your display helping you use the rule of thirds. In the photo above, a screenshot from my phone, you can see these lines .
The horizontal lines are good for horizons and shore lines. Put the horizon on the top line and the waves breaking non the bottom line and you have a nicely spaced photo.
The vertical lines are very useful for placing people in scenes and for placing tall objects in a frame.
The intersections of the four lines are slightly more complicated. Those are the points you use for very specific focal points in the photo. For a portrait shot, those are useful when positioning the eyes in the frame. When you take a photo of a flower say, place the bud or bloom on one of these points with the stem crossing the photo.
Another possibly obvious use of these lines on your camera is to use them to keep your photos straight. Look at lines on walls, or at the horizon? Is your photo lining up with the lines? No? Then make it so!
Time to stop thinking about invisible lines and start thinking about stuff. Let just imagine you are taking a photo of a group of people posing. Before you even lift your camera, look at the scene. Look to the sides and above the group. Do you have space to work with? Is there anything in that space that you don’t need, like a screaming toddler? Look at the background. Will it interfere with the photo? Strange lines, too dark, too bright, people hanging from trees? Everything clean there?
Although using The Rule is also considered composition, I personally think, the checking of the surrounding, when I hear composition. This is where you take charge. Punt that toddler to the side. Mark those people in the trees with a BB gun. Make everyone move to get a better background. You have the power, use it while you can.
Of the three rules this one takes the most practice and effort. You might have to climb some stairs, or heaven forbid walk three paces to the right to make your photo just so, but in the end, it will be worth it
* This is the second post in a series, with Rule Number One and Rule Number Two here.
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