I am often asked if I could only give one suggestion to a travel photographer to improve their photographs’ composition, what would it be? Without a doubt, I would suggest they learn and use “The Rule of Thirds.”
The “Rule of Thirds” refers to the concept that the most eye-pleasing photographic compositions split the field of view into roughly equal thirds, and that the scene’s important compositional elements are placed along these lines or their intersections.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a a typical consumer-level, point-and-shoot camera, or the most expensive professional SLR. On some cameras the viewfinders have gridlines which will help you see the “Thirds,” but most of the time photographers must use their best judgment.
“The Rule of Thirds” predates photography. It is one of the most famous “rules of thumb” in the art world. The first book which mentions the “Rule” is apparently John Thomas Smith’s 1797 illustrated book, Antiquities of Westminster; the Old Palace; St. Stephen’s Chapel, (now the House of Commons). George Field, in his 1845 book Chromatics, referenced Smith about the “Rule.” Artists have been using it for centuries.
You can see the “Rule” exemplified in countless works of art through the ages.
Rembrandt’s magnificent portraits generally exemplify the “Rule of Thirds.” Look at Rembrandt’s self portraits of 1629 through 1669. Note the position of his eyes in each portrait. They are always on, or very close to the line separating the top and middle thirds of the portraits. You can’t tell me that was by accident. Rembrandt knew the “Rule of Thirds.”
Picasso’s famous Cubist work, “Three Musicians,” Van Gogh’s painting “Street Scene in the Montmartre,” and Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise” all closely follow the “Rule of Thirds.”
Behavioral studies have examined the “Rule of Thirds.” The eye is naturally attracted to the intersection points. Using the “Rule,” leading the eye over a layout, photo or ad page with subject placement along the lines of the “Thirds” makes a greater, more memorable impression on the brain, and makes it more pleasing to the eye.
Most of my portraits and landscapes, as well as other photographs, follow the “Rule” as it makes them better images. Who am I to argue with the genius of Rembrandt, Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh?
While I know “rules are meant to be broken,” and I break this one at times, I believe the “Rule of Thirds,” works most of the time, especially with landscapes, and cityscapes which we all run into when we travel, but it isn’t the only principle of composition.
When we don’t use the “Rule of Thirds” we must recognize by not using the “Rule’s” intersection points, our photograph’s composition is working directly against the way a person normally views an image. Therefore, we should understand that, when we form an alternate composition construction, of the scene before us, into an image.
The example photograph, at the top, is Kicker Rock in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean. I have drawn the “Thirds” on to the photo in red. That small white area along the water to the right of Kicker Rock is Celebrity Cruises’ Xpedition. Note, I kept the ocean’s horizon in the lower third of the horizontal plane of the photograph. I broke the rule to a point, by putting the main part of the Rock in the center vertically, but it is along the left guide, and each of the three main portions of the Rock are located in the vertical thirds. Our eyes are clearly drawn through the intersection points to view the image.
The Kicker Rock photo opportunity cried out for using the “Rule of Thirds,” as landscape pictures often do. Keeping the water, for example, and its Kicker Rock reflection, in the lower third, allows the linear features of the image to flow from area to area.
Using any guidelines inflexibly is not a good idea. There are many situations in which guidelines or “rules of thumb” are better ignored. We should understand that the “Rule of Thirds” main thrust is to discourage photographers from placing the subject at dead center of the image, or allow an image’s horizon to bisect the photograph. Both of these would usually make for a mediocre or poor photo. When photographing people, it is normal to align the body with a vertical guide, and have their eyes align with a horizontal guide, just like the great Dutch painter, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.
I hope you will experiment with the “Rule of Thirds” the next time you travel, and that you can use it to make your photos even better than they already are.
Ned Levi is a long time professional photographer with a passion for wildlife and travel photography. You can view some of Ned’s travel and other photos at NSL Photography.
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
