How To Use The Rule of Thirds To Take Better Photos

The rule of thirds is a key compositional technique in photography. It involves dividing an image into nine equal parts using two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines.

The horizontal and vertical lines are guides for aligning horizontal elements, such as horizons, and vertical elements, such as a person, a tree, or the edge of a building.

The intersections of these lines are focal points or power points – placing key elements in your photo on these intersections will make your image more interesting and inviting.

Although the rule of thirds is a mathematical formula, its effect on the viewer is psychological. Objects placed smack in the middle of the frame come across as aggressive and too direct.

You can see this principle operating in portraits. When a subject looks straight into the camera, it can appear too direct and make the viewer uncomfortable. By contrast, when the subject looks away from the camera, it relaxes the viewer and invites them to follow the subject’s gaze.

But the rule of thirds, important as it is, is only a guideline. It doesn’t apply to all situations, and there are times when you need to ignore it.

However, as a rule of thumb, it will help you take better, more balanced, and interesting photos on your iPhone.

Before we get down to the details, let’s look at the role of composition in photography.

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Importance of Composition In Photography

People today spend a lot of time and money poring over online catalogs, looking for the camera to take their photography to the next level.

But the truth is, nothing will improve your photography as much as compositional technique. To put it another way, a well-composed photo taken with a cheaper camera will always be better than one taken with a more expensive camera but with poor composition.

Composition in photography is not just about arranging elements within a frame. It’s about creating an experience, a story, a feeling for the viewer. It’s about guiding their eye to the most important parts of the photo, ensuring your message or emotion is effectively conveyed.

Using techniques like the rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, and symmetry, you can create images that hold the viewer’s attention and evoke a stronger response.

Good composition can transform a mundane subject into a compelling photograph and make the difference between an average shot and a memorable one.

One of the keys to good composition is the rule of thirds.

Understanding the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a fundamental principle in photography, which dictates how to compose an image for maximum impact and aesthetic appeal.

The idea is to place the most important elements of the scene along these lines or at their intersections, known as power points or crash points.

This creates tension, energy, and interest. By contrast, a composition where the focus of the image is placed at the center of the photo is static and doesn’t hold the viewer’s attention.

The rule of thirds helps guide the viewer’s eye through the image, ensuring a balanced and engaging composition.

Rule of Thirds – Historical Context and Origins

The rule of thirds was first formulated in the 18th century by John Thomas Smith, an English artist and engraver.

After studying the paintings and writings of English portrait artist Joshua Reynolds, Smith proposed that artists could create more engaging images by dividing their canvas into thirds.

By placing focal points on the intersections of those thirds, their paintings would have more visual interest and dynamic balance.

Over time, Smith’s formulation became a basic guideline for the visual arts and even architecture.

7 Tips For Applying the Rule of Thirds With iPhone Camera

Now that you understand the rule of thirds and how it can improve your photos, let’s examine how to use it in your iPhone compositions.

1. Using the grid on your iPhone

First, turn on the ‘rule of thirds’ grid in your iPhone camera settings.

Go to Settings > Camera and then toggle the ‘Grid’ option to ‘On’:

Now, when you take a picture, you’ll see a ‘thirds’ grid inside your camera’s view frame:

2. Place key elements along the grid lines or at intersections

Three key techniques for using the ‘thirds’ grid inside the view frame of your camera are (1) placing the subject off-center, (2) aligning horizontal elements, and (3) aligning vertical elements.

3. Place the subject off-center

When the subject of your photo is offset from the center, it usually creates a more interesting photo. Try to align the subject with one of the vertical lines, as in this photo:

Notice that the woman pushing the pram is also positioned on the lower left intersection or ‘power point’.

4. Align horizontal elements

Another way to use the rule of thirds grid is to align one of the horizontal lines with the horizon in your photo. Notice how I placed the horizon along the bottom horizontal line in this photo:

Generally, you should never place the horizon mid-way between the top and bottom of your frame, as it tends to make the photo look unbalanced.

Placing the horizon at the lower third lets you emphasize the sky, as in this photo. But in another situation, you might want to draw attention to the foreground, in which case you could align the horizon with the upper horizontal.

In landscape photos, you can use the horizontal thirds to divide your image into foreground, middle ground, and background. This gives your photo a balanced feel, as in this example:

5. Align vertical elements

Aligning vertical elements with one of the two vertical lines in the grid is another way to create a balanced image.

In this photo, I aligned the background arch with the right-side vertical line in this photo. This offsets the composition and makes for a more interesting image:

6. Rule of Thirds and Negative Space

The rule of thirds aims to align your subject with either the right or the left third, as in this photo:

Photo by David Besh

This creates negative space, which is another powerful compositional technique.

7. Rules of Thirds in Portraits

When taking portraits’, position your subject’s eyes along the upper horizontal line, as this naturally draws the viewer’s attention to their face.

Notice how the subject’s eyes align with the upper horizontal line. This placement leads the viewer’s eye to the face.

In portraits you can use the vertical lines to offset the subject, as in this photo:

This creates a sense of balance and allows more engaging background elements to fill the remaining space.

Strictly speaking, this photo does not use the rule of thirds, as the eyes are not aligned with the upper horizontal line.

It illustrates something else about the rule of thirds: you don’t have to follow it to get a great photo. Remember: it’s just a guide, not a rule.

Practical Tips for Using the Rule of Thirds

Cropping photos to align with the rule of thirds

Sometimes, the rule of thirds may not seem relevant to the scene. Or you might simply forget to use it.

Don’t worry – you can usually apply the rule of thirds later, by cropping.

Take this photo of mine, for example:

At the time, I wanted to capture as much of the scene as possible.

But later, I cropped it using the rule of thirds.

I placed the subject at the intersection of a vertical and horizontal line. And it resulted in a photo that, I believe, is more striking:

Here’s another example.

The photo of Makassar Harbour that I showed earlier is cropped from an original photo:

By cropping it using the rule of thirds, I was able to create a simpler photo with more impact:

Balancing the rule of thirds with other composition techniques

Remember that you don’t have to use the rule of thirds in every photo.

In some situations, other compositional techniques, such as negative space, orienting objects along a diagonal, symmetry, leading lines, or repetition, will better suit the scene.

So don’t become a slave to the rule of thirds – experiment and see if it works in a particular situation.

Exceptions To The Rule

The rule of thirds is a basic guideline in photography, which holds that an image should be divided into nine equal parts, with key elements placed along these lines or their intersections.

However, the rule of thirds doesn’t apply to all situations. Take this image, for example.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

Admittedly, the horizon aligns with the lower horizontal third. But the photo’s subject, the highway, is centred and doesn’t in any way obey the rule of thirds.

Or take this iconic portrait of Winston Churchill.

In this photo, the eyes don’t align with the upper horizontal line, and the face is placed squarely in the center. Yet, there is no denying that it is a powerful image that captures the essence of Churchill’s resolute character.

The key to breaking the rule of thirds is understanding its purpose and consciously choosing to deviate from it when the photo will be more powerful without it.

Putting It Into Action

Take a rule of thirds field trip

Spend half a day taking as many shots as possible where the subject is aligned with the right or left third or placed on an intersection or ‘power point’. Repetitive practice will eventually make the rule of thirds something you do automatically when framing a shot.

Focus on the eyes

When taking shots with people or animals, pay special attention to the location of the eyes. Placing one eye on a ‘power point’ or intersection will always make a more striking photo.

Photo by Luisa Peter on Unsplash

Take multiple shots

Try taking photos of the same subject in multiple different ‘rule of thirds positions’.

For example, take one shot with the subject at the top right intersection, another at the bottom left power point, and so on.

Use cropping

If your original photo didn’t use the rule of thirds, you can always apply this technique by cropping the photo using a rule of thirds overlay.

I did this with two of the photos shown in this article.

Conclusion

Mastering the rule of thirds is essential for any photographer looking to elevate their work.

You can create balanced, engaging, visually appealing photographs by dividing the frame into nine equal parts and placing key elements along these lines or their intersections.

This technique helps guide the viewer’s eye through the image, adding depth and interest.

However, it’s also important to recognize that the rule of thirds is a guideline, not a strict rule.

As you become more comfortable with its use, you can experiment with breaking the rule to suit your creative vision and the specific needs of your subject matter.

Ultimately, the rule of thirds is just a tool in your photographic toolkit. It helps you take better photos while encouraging you to explore and define your unique style.