Rule of thirds

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Example of the rule of thirds
A typical application of this rule

The rule of thirds - even two-thirds rule ( English Rule of Thirds ) - is a design rule in the photograph , adhere to the theory of proportions of the golden section leans.

application

With the rule of thirds, the picture is mentally cut into nine parts. You draw two horizontal and two vertical lines so that all nine parts are the same size. The photographing motif is applied to one of the four points of intersection, it can be also placed along a line. In the example image you can see that the horizon runs along the lower horizontal line and that the center of the tree lies on the lower right intersection. The brightest point of sunset is still close enough to the lower left intersection to also benefit from the rule.

The focus adjustment aids of many cameras are arranged in the center of the viewfinder , so that, intuitively, the main subject is often placed in the center of the image. Since such photos often appear unharmonious, boring and static, the rule of thirds serves as a simple aid to avoid this. Here, the focus should first be set on the main subject and the camera should be moved slightly before the shutter release. As with all design rules in photography, the application of the rule of thirds always depends on the subject and the design intent; Breaking rules consciously can lead to better images.

Relationship to the golden ratio

According to the rule of proportions of the golden ratio , the motif should share the overall picture in the golden ratio or the distance of the motif from the edge of the image to the image length should be in the ratio 1: Φ ≈ 0.618. However, since an exact placement is time-consuming,: 1 = 2: 3 ≈ 0.667 is used instead as a rough but easy-to-use approximation.

Diagonal method

Relationship to the diagonal method

The Dutch photographer Edwin Westhoff came to the conclusion through visual experiments that the rule of thirds was imprecise. He specifically examined photos, paintings and engravings and was able to show that the strong points lie on the diagonal lines of a square . Since a photo is often a rectangle with the dimensions 4: 3 or 3: 2, he propagates the concentration on the four bisectors of the corners and thus developed the diagonal method as an alternative composition to the rule of thirds.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Frye: Digital Landscape Photography: Photography like Ansel Adams and Co. Hüthig Jehle Rehm 2010, ISBN 9783826658969 , p. 72 ( excerpt in the Google book search).
  2. ↑ Garry Reynolds: Zen or the art of presentation: design and present with simple ideas . Pearson Education 2008, ISBN 9783827327086 , pp. 151–152 ( excerpt from Google book search).
  3. ↑ Michael Wagner: The 1 × 1 of video filming: Basics of video technology . Fachverlag Schiele & Schoen 2010, ISBN 9783794907953 , p. 57 ( excerpt in the Google book search).
  4. ↑ M. Hartel (2008): Urban expression . Digital Photographer, 74 (September), 30-42.

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