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Page 1 of 3 PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION PART ONE RULE OF THIRDS Long ago, when Greece was in its glory, artists and scientists alike tried to determine what makes good design or composition. The Greeks finally came up with the "Golden Rule" which is very close to what we now know as "the rule of thirds." (In recent years we have managed to change the meaning of the Golden Rule to mean, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) The Greeks went even further by specifying exact mathematical equations for their concept of am ideal design. This ideal came to influence classical drawing and sculpture. The columns of their temples and palaces are en excellent example. Each column is mathematically designed to appear graceful, majestic and straight. But if you were able to lay a straight edge alongside one of those columns you would find that it is actually curved and that the widest point of the column is approximately two thirds of the way up from the bottom. Their specifications are, in reality, much more refined than “approximately”, but for our use in printing, art and photography, it is adequate. Early in the twentieth century German and Austrian psychologists followed an almost identical quest through the school of thought that they called Gestalt , which is German for "shape." It was their hope to learn how we perceive and process visual images. They created a theory of principles, almost free from aesthetic bias, that artists have been able to use to communicate visual information - whether it be the printed page, painting or photography. They called it the "Gestalt theory" and although it may sound unfamiliar, the principles of the theory should be familiar to most artists and photographers. In this series of essays I hope to show you not only how to use the rules of the masters, but how to break those same rules intelligently. It sounds like a frightening concept, too big for the normal person to comprehend, but in reality, it is really quite simple. You will wonder why you never thought of the rules yourself. The first rule to learn is the “Rule Of Thirds”. This isn’t anything mysterious or difficult to understand. The Greeks figured it out three thousand years ago and the Germans included it in their “Gestalt Theory”.

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Page 1: PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION - … · Page 1 of 3 PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION PART ONE RULE OF THIRDS Long ago, when Greece was in its glory, artists and scientists alike tried to determine

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PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITIONPART ONE

RULE OF THIRDS

Long ago, when Greece was in its glory, artists and scientists alike tried to determine whatmakes good design or composition. The Greeks finally came up with the "Golden Rule" which isvery close to what we now know as "the rule of thirds." (In recent years we have managed tochange the meaning of the Golden Rule to mean, “Do unto others as you would have them dounto you”) The Greeks went even further by specifying exact mathematical equations for theirconcept of am ideal design. This ideal came to influence classical drawing and sculpture. Thecolumns of their temples and palaces are en excellent example. Each column is mathematicallydesigned to appear graceful, majestic and straight. But if you were able to lay a straight edgealongside one of those columns you would find that it is actually curved and that the widestpoint of the column is approximately two thirds of the way up from the bottom. Theirspecifications are, in reality, much more refined than “approximately”, but for our use inprinting, art and photography, it is adequate.

Early in the twentieth century German and Austrian psychologists followed an almost identicalquest through the school of thought that they called Gestalt, which is German for "shape." It wastheir hope to learn how we perceive and process visual images. They created a theory ofprinciples, almost free from aesthetic bias, that artists have been able to use to communicatevisual information - whether it be the printed page, painting or photography. They called it the"Gestalt theory" and although it may sound unfamiliar, the principles of the theory should befamiliar to most artists and photographers.

In this series of essays I hope to show you not only how to use the rules of the masters, but howto break those same rules intelligently. It sounds like a frightening concept, too big for thenormal person to comprehend, but in reality, it is really quite simple. You will wonder why younever thought of  the rules yourself.The first rule to learn is the “Rule Of Thirds”. This isn’t anything mysterious or difficult tounderstand. The Greeks figured it out three thousand years ago and the Germans included it intheir “Gestalt Theory”.

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Imagine a “Tic Tac Toe” game overlaying your viewfinder (some cameras actually have thisfeature inscribed on the ground glass).

The Greek and Gestalt theories are that people actually enjoy viewing images more if the centerof interest is positioned on any one of the places where the lines intersect. If you have a horizonline, or a water line it should be positioned on one of the horizontal lines. If the center of interestis a sailboat, then it should be located on one of the vertical lines.Now I’ll add a rule that is so simple you’ll think you knew it all along. Be sure the sailboat hasmore room in front of it than behind it. You want the sailboat to have room to sail into thepicture instead of out of the picture. You want the viewer’s eyes to move into the scene, not outof it. That may sound silly, but for hundreds (actually thousands) of years, testing has proved thatpeople are uncomfortable when an object appears to be moving out of the scene.

It doesn’t matter if you are shooting a horizontal, or a vertical one, the theory remains the same.If you can learn to keep this single rule in mind when you take a picture, your photography willimprove far beyond your wildest imagination.

Notice that the white building is on a“Third” line and that the tunnel formed bythe arcing water is at one of the fourintersections of the “Tic Tac Toe” layout.The photographer, Joni Agnew, had to laydown to take this picture, but it is easilyfar more dramatic than if the photographerhad been standing upright.

The picture on the right has three elements, the rising sun,the “monument”, and the building at the base of thepicture. I had to decide which item would be the center ofinterest and determined that the sun would be dominant inthe photo no matter where it was positioned, so I made itthe center of interest and placed it on the intersecting lines.The monument simply provides a frame for the sun. In afuture article I will explain how to take perfectsunrise/sunset pictures without frying your camera’ssensors.

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Sometimes the center of interest in a picture (particularly in a landscape) is difficult to establish.If possible, move around a little. See if you can find a tree, or a bush, even a big rock will do, touse as a center of interest. Many times you only have to stoop down take the picture from alower viewpoint to find what you need. You can also use color to create the composition, butthat gets pretty sophisticated, so I’ll save that lesson for another time.

An important thing to keep in mind when you are planning your composition is to look at theentire picture. Make sure you don’t cut off the top of the sail, or tree, or building that is yourcenter of interest. That’s a big “NO NO”. Remember that you can always crop the image in yourComputer, so give the subject plenty of room.

When you look into your viewfinder, look at everything. Look in all four corners. Look at theground in front of your subject. Make sure there are no candy wrappers, beer cans, or any otherdistracting items in the picture. Clean up the debris if you have to. If there are unwanted peoplein the way and you have waited for a reasonable length of time, ask them (politely, of course) tomove over a little so you can take your picture. I’ve even had people in that situation ask me fora copy of the picture and then give me their name and address.

Never be embarrassed simply because you are using a point and shoot camera. I once had a verygood instructor who purposely carried an old, inexpensive, range finder camera on outings justto prove that he could take a better picture than someone carrying an expensive Leica, orHasselblad camera. He won awards in almost every field of photography using that camera andtraveled all over the United States representing the Eastman Kodak Company at trade shows andseminars on photography. It isn’t the camera. It’s the photographer that makes good pictures.Good equipment is nice to have. It is more dependable and your images will be sharper. Theability to change lenses is an especially nice feature of SLR type cameras, because you can usespecialty lenses such as 50, or 100mm macro lens which produce what is called a flat fieldimage that is almost completely free of distortion.

Taking pictures is fun, but when people are more impressed with your photography than withyour equipment, it’s even better.