What is the rule of thirds? In photography school, one of the first things…

a new student learns is called the rule of thirds. Very simply it is this. Imagine 4 lines through your picture. Two dissect the picture vertically and two horizontally. This divides your picture into 9 equal sections. 3 across and 3 down.

You’ll notice that all the basic subjects of interest fall somewhere near these lines. The cabin is at the intersection of two.

The fence in the background and both fences in the foreground, all fall near the lines. Even the nearest fence posts teeter around the vertical line on the left.

Doing this balances out the image. When taking a picture, if you place your subject/s somewhere along these lines, the composition of your picture is said to be more appealing to the eye.

Here it is again without the lines. Whadayathink?

The generally accepted rules for people and animals are, eyes at one horizontal line, either upper or lower, and the nearest edge is at their back.

This next picture follows the rule of thirds. The following one doesn't. To me, it's pretty obvious which I find more appealing even though the only difference is how they are cropped.

Notice the little guy’s feet, his body, the stick on the ground, even the bushes roughly follow along the lines. His eyes are near the intersection of two. All aspects of the top picture follow "The Rule of Thirds."

If your subject divides your picture, either horizontally or vertically, it may be balanced but the appeal seems to diminish. The difference may be subtle, but subconscious impressions make all the difference in the world.

There will always be exceptions and there will always be artistic preferences. This is just a starting point to keep in mind when you are shooting.

However you decide to divide up your subjects and the picture, if you somewhat follow this rule your pictures should look good.

After a time of consciously practicing the rule of thirds it will become automatic.

There are a few other rules of composition, but if you practice this one it covers enough territory to have you proudly displaying photographs of all types. Later you can study more deeply if you wish to expand your horizons.

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