The Rule of Thirds is the Pet Photography Challenge for week two. Once again, Bailie is the subject. Mom takes photos of each of us for the challenge and then chooses the one she thinks is best. I think Bailie’s smile was the winning reason for her photo this week.
What is the Rule of Thirds?
This rule has to do with the composition of the photo. By using this guide, you can change the way a photo makes a person feel when they look at it. The basic premise is to break the photo into thirds using a grid like the one above.
One should try to have the subject of the photo touch no more than two of the intersections (red circles), and the background should be in a 1/3, 2/3 ratio when possible. Having your subject on the left third of the photo facing the right two thirds can imply motion to the right. The purpose of the Rule of Thirds is not to take a better quality photo, it is to give anyone looking at it a certain feeling or perspective. In Bailie’s photo, being in the left third looking slightly left gives one the feeling that she came from the right side of the photo. The bottom two thirds of the photo is snow, and the top one third is the fence.
How does one shoot with the Rule of Thirds?
Many cameras and even phones have a grid you can turn on in your view finder to help you layout your shot a bit better. It is something fun to play around with. A common misconception of many is to always center the subject in a photo, but in reality, a centered photo can often appear rather boring. There are circumstances where some placements are better than others and centered is sometimes good, but try playing around with the rule of thirds. I think you will like what you shoot!
I KNEW you would explain this so that I understood! I didn’t participate this week because I had no clue what they were talking about! I am still a little confused, but you DID shed quite a bit of light on my dilemma!!!!
Once Mom learned about it in a camera class a few years back, it has become a great tool.
WHEW! Who knew photography could be so intense. I love Bailie’s smile! XOXO, Sparkle
It used to be a simple snap and move on, but the more I pressure my photographer for better photos, the more we learn.
Nice photo! Mom loved the explanation. Happy Friday! your doodle friend Dash
Thanks! We use this rule all the time.
I thought you had to have three dogs and pick one for the photo. Great job!
LOL! We did get lots of photos of three different dogs, but only Bailie won again this week.
Good ideas. We have a hard time getting pictures of me cause I am so dark
Edward (& Lily)
Madison is also challenging because she is dark around her eyes so they are sometimes hard to see.
we have that grid… and the mama read the instruction for hours to delete it… now we know why we need that grid… hope we can re-install this thingy lol
We only use it in our photo editing software. When taking photos my photographer “imagines” it.
I need to find the grid in my phone – and in my “regular” camera! I love that photo of Bailie! And I see exactly what you mean. Thanks! BTW…any idea where I might find the grid in my iPhone?
No idea. No IPhone here. Google it would be my suggestion. Google knows everything!
I found it! In the settings.
Yay!
Skipper uses this sometimes when he photographs too. It is a great way to frame a picture.
We use it a lot but find we favor the subject on the right, so we challenged ourselves in this one to get the subject on the left.
iThat is a rule that most of us can follow!
Much easier than last week’s challenge.
I had heard of the rule of thirds but never really knew the specifics of it….I thought it just meant the subject only took up one third of the photo. Thanks for the great explanation! I love Bailie’s crooked smile!
That smile probably comes from her crooked thoughts! Mom learned about it in a camera class a few years back.
I love this rule of thirds. I hope Mom tries it. I think I will look adorable in my third of the photo.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
It isn’t for every photo, but it works well quite often. Have fun with it!
We love that once you know the rule of thirds, there are so many things you can do with it!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
Exactly. I remember when my photographer first learned about it. It is a fun way to compose photos.
Great info! I had forgotten my camera class and now I remember! Thanks! No boring photos here any more!
Yay! We love helping people out!
The rule of thirds is so helpful. mom L knows about it but she is not very skilled at doing it
It gets easier the more you do it.
We are big fans of the Rule of Thirds. It often provides a better way to visually express your scene. Nice job!
We are big fans of it too.
Great photo, you picked a good one and thanks for the explanation.
Thanks. We are big fans of this rule.
Yup, we love the rule of thirds – in video, we call leading with the face to the inside of the image “nose room”.
Interesting. My mom stinks at video but you guys rock it! I wonder if nose room has anything to do with nose work???
This is pretty much the only rule mom knows and uses! Love Dolly
It’s a good rule!
I use rule of thirds all the time, even when cropping.
We do too, but it is amazing how many people don’t know about it.
Great winter photo. I love the rule of thirds… it gives me guidelines when composing a shot! You used it great in that photo.
It is so simple and can do so much. Once my photographer learned about it a while back it became on of the top tools in her bag!
Thank you for the explanation. I will try it out to see what we can get. My biggest challenges are it is can get a Newf to fit in the third, or if they are still long enough for me to even try. I had a perfect picture set up this weekend and John moved at that minute and the whole thing was destroyed.
Real small or large subjects can add a challenge. We are pretty good about holding our spot when told which helps.
Your explanation is so easy to understand. Bailie looks great, and your mom is a terrific photographer.
Thank you. We try to keep things simple.
I’m learning a great deal hanging out with you Emma during this series – thanks
They are all pretty simple tips to try so far, but fun. Some of them are things we use a lot already. My photographer can always use tips, so I’m glad I signed her up for this challenge.