http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/take_better_photos_-_weekly_photo_tips/archive/2006/10/12/The-Basics-of-Composition-_2D00_-Rule-of-Thirds.aspxWe all look at famous artwork and photographs and can appreciate their striking beauty, but what makes them stand out as being &quot;better&quot;? There are many basic rules that an artist uses as a guide when creating, and usually the first rule theyenCommunityServer 2.1 (Build: 60809.935)http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/take_better_photos_-_weekly_photo_tips/archive/2006/10/12/The-Basics-of-Composition-_2D00_-Rule-of-Thirds.aspx#701Mon, 06 Nov 2006 00:46:16 GMT7b375189-dcc7-4af7-b4d3-2fc751a0220e:701Jay McGillicuddy<p>Hi here is a photo I took in NY over the 4th of July weekend this yr.</p><p>I like it but did I use the rule of thirds?</p><p>I just noticed the picture looks a little flawed in the foreground, I&#39;ll have to see what happened and fix it</p><p>Thanks Jay</p>http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/take_better_photos_-_weekly_photo_tips/archive/2006/10/12/The-Basics-of-Composition-_2D00_-Rule-of-Thirds.aspx#704Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:04:43 GMT7b375189-dcc7-4af7-b4d3-2fc751a0220e:704cblighphotography<p>Thanks for the comment Jay,</p> <p>The composition of you photograph is nice, it does and doesn't follow the rule of thirds.</p> <p>If we put an imaginary grid on your picture along the thirds of the frame we'll notice a couple of things. &nbsp;The barn is nicely placed on the left third of the frame creating a balance between that and the fence to the right. &nbsp;But, the horizon line is place almost dead center. &nbsp;With this placement, your photo has two areas of dead space, the sky and the grass.</p> <p>To improve on this image and have it follow the rule of thirds you would need to either raise or lower the horizon line. &nbsp;If you lowered the horizon line you would be left with a large amount of negative space in the sky simple because there were no clouds out that day. &nbsp;If there were interesting clouds to break up the sky I would suggest lowering the horizon line. &nbsp;Our other option is to raise the horizon line, but this would leave us with seemingly miles of boring, mowed grass distracting us for our subject (the barn.)</p> <p>As you can see, to follow the rule of thirds can be more difficult than just taking a snap-shot. &nbsp;My suggestion would be, if you could return to this location (you may not be able to) and try different angles, maybe move the picnic table, placing it more in the foreground to break up the reapeating patterns in the grass. &nbsp;Getting closer to the subject, moving around or trying from a low angle can also help in getting a stong image using the Rule of Thirds.</p> <p>Thanks Jay and I hope my reply can help you when your out shooting next time.</p> <p>- Catherine Bligh</p> <p><a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://www.cblighphotography.com">http://www.cblighphotography.com</a></p> http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/take_better_photos_-_weekly_photo_tips/archive/2006/10/12/The-Basics-of-Composition-_2D00_-Rule-of-Thirds.aspx#710Tue, 07 Nov 2006 16:53:03 GMT7b375189-dcc7-4af7-b4d3-2fc751a0220e:710Jay McGillicuddyThanks Catherine I appreciate the imput. Jay