In the photography world there are some basic rules that are generally followed. One of these is “The rule of thirds”. What does this mean? well once you have read this page you will fully understand and be able to put in to practice.While there are times when you need to place your subject in the centre of the frame, you can create more interesting, balanced and powerful compositions by placing the subject off-centre in your photograph; this immediately causes the viewer's eye to move around the image. Centrally placed subjects tend to focus attention in the middle of the image and leave it there, making pictures feel flat as a result; if you're trying to create an abstract or graphic representation of reality, this might be exactly the effect you're looking for, but you can strengthen your compositions with a subtle shift of the focal point.

Know the rules

One of the most frequently used ways of directing the viewer's eye to the centre of interest in a picture is by following the rule of thirds. You've probably heard Digital Camera Magazine, and other photographers, talk about this compositional tool, which was developed by painters centuries ago. The idea is to imagine that your frame is split into nine equal sections by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. Then, by placing your subject, or a key part of your scene, at or near a point where the lines cross a point of power you'll lead your viewer's eye through the image, and create a more balanced composition; you'll be surprised at how dominant smaller subjects can become in a much larger scene. There's a similar rule, the golden mean, in which the proportions are slightly different, although the idea's the same.

Break the rules

Not every image in a shoot should conform to the rule of thirds, otherwise you'll end up creating a series of similarly paced pictures. Sometimes, all it takes is a slight nudge of the main subject off-centre to create a more balanced picture, or you could try moving the subject right to the edge of the frame. There will be times when you have no option but to place your subject bang in the centre of the photo, and as long as that's where you want to hold your viewers attention, that's fine. Imagine you're on safari, and a lion starts running towards you; this is probably the time to place the subject dead centre; if you managed to hold your camera steady! In practice, you'd probably need the animal to be dead centre because you'd need your most sensitive autofocus points to track it, but its also perfect placement if the lion's gaze is fixed on you.

Use Lines

Learn to see patterns, lighting and lines that'll help to take your viewers to the point of power where you've placed your key feature. Diagonal lines can help here, particularly when short ones on one side of the subject are combined with long ones on the other side. Lines that lead the eye to a central subject can help to prevent the image from feeling static as well. Get up early, or stay out late, to see how natural light picks out different elements in a landscape; a hillside bathed in warm light placed off-centre against a cool shadowy background will demand the viewer's attention.

Panoramas.