Rule of Thirds: Knowing When to Follow the Rule and When Not To

If you Google “Rule of Thirds”, you will find numerous blog entries and tutorials about the most well known principle of photographic composition: The Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds has been around for centuries, appearing as early as 1797 as a rule for establishing proportions for scenic paintings. Admittedly, I have not made a study of the Rule of Thirds until recently, as I am very much a self-taught photographer. While I agree that it is a helpful tool, I also agree with many photographers that all rules are made to be broken or at least stretched somewhat, and there are times where stretching or breaking the Rule’s rule may produce a more interesting photograph than following the Rule to the letter.

To review: The Rule of Thirds breaks the image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This gives the photographer four lines and four points where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect as a guide for positioning the most important elements of the pictures. The idea is to place the points of interest in the photograph at one or more intersections of the four lines or along the lines. The photo will then be more balanced and enable to viewer to interact with the image more naturally. Research has shown that a person’s eye is drawn more often to one of the intersection points rather than to the center of the photograph.

The photo above shows how the main action elements fall where the lines intersect – the dog biting the sleeve (lower left intersection) and the helper’s back (upper right intersection). Also, the dog follows the left vertical line and the helper’s upper body follow’s the upper horizontal line. The primary elements in the photo have the appearance of being centered, but actually are slightly off center.

The photograph above and the one below illustrate how to crop a photo with one following the Rule of Thirds more closely (picture below) and other with the dog centered (picture above). This is an example of how following the Rule of Thirds to the letter may not be the best choice, as it gives more prominence to the blind than is likely needed or desired. Personally, I see both points of view here, as these photos are showing the blind search, so the blind is a main character.

One instance where stretching or breaking the Rule of Thirds is a good idea is portraits (whether person or dog), especially portraits that fill the frame. Notice in the image below how the fellow’s eyes are close to the intersection of the upper left lines and draw the viewer’s eyes across the rest of the image. Also, this fellow’s amazing smile, a major feature of the picture, is at the lower right intersection. So, even though the fellow fills the entire frame, key elements are still positioned at the intersections of the right vertical and horizontal lines.

The next two images show the dog’s face in the center of photograph, yet their eyes fall along the upper horizontal line. The second photo also has built-in guide lines the form of the crate and the pick-up truck’s back gate.

The next two images again show the same image cropped with one closely following the Rule of Thirds and the other stretching the Rule a bit. The first image has the primary action of the dog picking up the dumbbell at the lower left intersection, yet it does not include any place for the dog to go. In other words, the frame ends too close to the action. Placing the dog front and center does have its appeal, as it is a dramatic shot of the dog retrieving the dumbbell. The second image is not cropped as closely and provides more grassy area around the dog. Personally, I like this photo better, as the dog has some place to go and the green grass offers a nice frame around the dog. Alternatively, the photo could be cropped such that the primary action of the dog retrieving the dumbbell could be aligned with the left vertical line and the right side of the photograph filled in with more grass.

The final example shows the dog taking up pretty much the entire center of the photograph, but notice that the primary action of the dog getting ready to bite the sleeve is at the upper right intersection. This photo, to me, has the best of both worlds. The dog is centered, and the the most exciting part of the photo is near an intersection of two lines. Also, notice that in this instance, the action is the chase, so instead of giving the dog and helper some place to go, the image emphasizes the direction from which the dog initiated the chase. This also is a good example of the importance of knowing the Schutzhund protection routine, having a clear understanding of what each exercise is all about, and using on-site composition aided by some careful cropping to create a dramatic photograph that really tells the story of the particular exercise – in this case, the escape bite.

The good news is many digital cameras have the option of turning on the Rule of Thirds guide, which is then visible in the view finder. Try using it, and see if it helps with composing photographs. Of course, in the heat of Schutzhund action, especially in protection, it’s not always possible to pay attention to the Rule of Thirds guide. Sometimes it’s all we can do to capture the dogs in focus as they zip buy on their way to a bite. First things first after all. Thank goodness for Photoshop and other photo processing programs with good cropping tools! I know, the purist photographers among us may scoff at the idea, but – for me – if the tools exist, I’m going to use them.

In closing, I’d like to extend a shout out to Darren Rowse of the Digital Photography School. His blog entry on the Rule of Thirds was very helpful in creating this post. Thanks, Darren.

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