What is the Rule of Thirds?
One of the fundamentals of painting and photography, the Rule of Thirds is a technique designed to help artists and photographers build drama and interest in a piece. The rule of thirds involves mentally dividing up your image using 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines, as shown below. You then position the important elements in your scene along those lines, or at the points where they meet. Elements of the composition should take care to not cross the lines, and points of interest in the work should land near where two lines intersect, known as a crash point. The idea is that an off-centre composition is more pleasing to the eye and looks more natural than one where the subject is placed right in the middle of the frame. It also encourages you to make creative use of negative space, the empty areas around your subject.
