Rule of Thirds
Rule of Thirds or Golden Ratio - Photography Composition
The Rule of Thirds is perhaps the most well known principle of photographic composition.
The "Rule of Thirds" one of the first things that beginning photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.
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 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. 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?
A lot of cameras actually show the grid in the view finder so you can compose as you shoot.
Breaking the rule can result in some striking shots - but it is a good idea to learn the rule first so you understand why you are breaking it and what it does to make your image better. So once you've learned it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.
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 re-framing 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.
Basic Editing is allowed, this is the definition of Basic Editing as it relates to this contest:
You Must:
●Create from a single image
You may:
●Crop
●Rotate
●Straighten
●Resize
●Use filters or stand alone plug-ins for enhancement, sharpening, adjusting levels and white balance, that are designed to preserve Image Integrity, such as Topaz Adjust, Clarity, Detail, Nik Color Efex, Neat Images
●Saturate, desaturate or adjust colors but no selections allowed
●Process in RAW as long as the process does not create new effects or features and preserves Image Integrity
●Clone to remove blemishes and minor distractions such as sensor dirt, phone lines
●You can use any feature in your camera except combining of multiple images in camera
You may not:
●Spot edit you entry for any reason other than noted above
●Use any selection tool, layer masks, quick masks or similar tools
●Use layers
●Add images from another image
●Use graphics or effects
●Use any editing tools to create new image areas, objects or features, including vignettes, fog, lens flare, blur and related features
●distort or stretch your image in any way including perspective or skew
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Friday, September 4, 2015.
The Rule of Thirds is perhaps the most well known principle of photographic composition.
The "Rule of Thirds" one of the first things that beginning photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.
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 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. 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?
A lot of cameras actually show the grid in the view finder so you can compose as you shoot.
Breaking the rule can result in some striking shots - but it is a good idea to learn the rule first so you understand why you are breaking it and what it does to make your image better. So once you've learned it experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover.
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 re-framing 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.
Basic Editing is allowed, this is the definition of Basic Editing as it relates to this contest:
You Must:
●Create from a single image
You may:
●Crop
●Rotate
●Straighten
●Resize
●Use filters or stand alone plug-ins for enhancement, sharpening, adjusting levels and white balance, that are designed to preserve Image Integrity, such as Topaz Adjust, Clarity, Detail, Nik Color Efex, Neat Images
●Saturate, desaturate or adjust colors but no selections allowed
●Process in RAW as long as the process does not create new effects or features and preserves Image Integrity
●Clone to remove blemishes and minor distractions such as sensor dirt, phone lines
●You can use any feature in your camera except combining of multiple images in camera
You may not:
●Spot edit you entry for any reason other than noted above
●Use any selection tool, layer masks, quick masks or similar tools
●Use layers
●Add images from another image
●Use graphics or effects
●Use any editing tools to create new image areas, objects or features, including vignettes, fog, lens flare, blur and related features
●distort or stretch your image in any way including perspective or skew
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Friday, September 4, 2015.
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