Photography - The Rule of Thirds

Perhaps the most well know principle of photographic composition is the ‘Rule of Thirds‘.
The “Rule of Thirds” one of the first things that budding digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.
I will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesn’t mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective!

What is the Rule of Thirds?

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows.

As you’re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through your viewfinder or in the LCD display that you use to frame your shot.
With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image.
Not only this – but it also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.
In addition to the above picture of the bee where the bee’s eye becomes the point of focus here are some of examples:

Another Rule of Thirds Example

In this image I’ve purposely placed the head of my subject on one of the intersecting points – especially his eyes which are a natural point of focus for a portrait. His tie and flower also take up a secondary point of interest.

In this shot I’ve placed the subject along a whole line which means she is considerably off center and therefore creating an additional point of interest. Placing her right in the center of the frame could have resulted in an ‘awkward’ shot.
In a similar way a good technique for landscape shots is to position horizons along one of the horizontal lines also as I’ve done with the following shot (I’ll let you imagine the lines).

Using the Rule of Thirds comes naturally to some photographers but for many of us takes a little time and practice for it to become second nature.
In learning how to use the rule of thirds (and then to break it) the most important questions to be asking of yourself are:

• What are the points of interest in this shot?
• Where am I intentionally placing them?

Once again – remember that breaking the rule can result in some striking shots – so once you’ve learnt it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.
Lastly – keep the rule of thirds in mind as you edit your photos later on. Post production editing tools today have good tools for cropping and reframing images so that they fit within the rules. Experiment with some of your old shots to see what impact it might have on your photos.
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Photojournalism

What is photojournalism? Photojournalism is a particular branch of journalism that tells the news story through images, depicting the event or news item. Photojournalism can also refer to the photographs that accompany and illustrate a news story.


How is photojournalism different to normal photography? Photojournalism is significantly different from other types of photography as the photos must be contextual. In this sense, the images of a photojournalist must be timely and have meaning in relation to the event being recorded or the story they are aiming to portray. Another important element of photojournalism is that the images must be objective – the same objectivity rules apply as they do to written journalism in that they must be a fair and accurate representation. Finally, a great photojournalism photo will offer some kind of narrative element that will support and help tell the news story.

Different kinds of photojournalists: Just as there are different types of journalists, photojournalists can also choose from a variety of different areas or stories to pursue. A photojournalist for a large newspaper might follow day to day stories and be sent out on assignment. Other photojournalists might cover war or foreign events and often be put in dangerous situations. Freelance photojournalists will choose stories or photo subjects that suit them, and then get them published in a variety of publications or media outlets. Whatever area or news type interests you, photojournalists have a choice in which stories and photographs they would like to pursue.


Essentially, photojournalists are visual reporters, and have a responsibility to capture news and events in a fair, objective and interesting way that visually portrays the story.  The increasingly online and interactive media world has ushered in the ‘citizen journalist’, who, with the proliferation of personal digital cameras, is able to submit amateur photographs to a range of news forums or social media networks. There is still an important place, however, for well crafted, professional photographs from photojournalists. A range of available freelance photography courses cater to those wishing to pursue photo journalism as a career. Such courses cover the basics of photography (lighting, equipment, processing, etc.), as well as information on different media outlets, the importance of composition and how to build your career. Photography courses are a great way to kick-start your career as a successful photojournalist.

The Storm in the light

The storm approaches in dusk at Maseru Photo/Hlompho Letsielo

When Tradition Needs a Change

'Makheisara Thabana walks home from a nearby forest in the outskirts of Maseru, Lesotho. Most of the residents rely on firewood for heating and cooking resulting in a very high rate of deforestation. Photo Hlompho Letsielo

A Spiritual Flow

Makhaleng River in Lesotho Photo/Hlompho Letsielo

The river runs through a couple of districts in Lesotho, and in these photograph the river flows through the outskirts of Maseru district.

The Darker Side of Life

Poverty is one of the biggest issues in Lesotho and its pretty sad that those thought to be responsible on such issues seemed to know less about the depth of the scourge, Journalist are the communities voices but how many poverty article do you see in Papers? As if people are supposed to adapt to it, Politics make front pages of local papers but there are so many stories untold, those of abject poverty and misery. We need a revolution.

A woman working in a quarry in Ha Tsosane. Photo/Hlompho Letsielo