The Rule of thirds draws the eye to the sunlit spot of this photo at Bryce.
When you're composing a photo, it can be tempting to frame the subject in the center of your shot. But is this the most interesting photo you can take? Does it convey what you want it to? Sometimes, this will mean putting the subject of the photo slightly off center. It can give a context to the shot that wouldn't exist if you took a photo head-on.
This is where the Rule of Thirds comes in. If you mentally divide the frame into thirds (both horizontally and vertically), the intersecting points are where you want to position your subject (I've seen some digital cameras that make this easy for you and actually show the grid in your viewscreen).
For this to work, you need to make sure that the space created by off-centering the subject serves a purpose. It could be a depth of field, it could be some motion, it could be something that the subject is looking at. Actually, it could be almost anything.
You don't have to precise in the placement. Remember, most of photography is really based on guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Playing around these guidelines often produce the most interesting shots.
Don't forget, you can apply the rule of thirds by cropping too! This is a great way to "save" a photo that you're not crazy about.
Comments