Composing Better Photos - Rule of Thirds - Part 2

It has been a while since I started my 'composing better photos' series. In fact I suspect it is so long ago that I wrote the first part of the rule of thirds you may well have forgotten about this series all together! But do not fear, If you want a reminder, you can read it here.

In the last post, I talked about following the rule of thirds by using an imaginary grid line to position focal points approximately a third, or two-thirds of the way across or up the screen. In this post, I will talk about the other way you can use the grid, which is, by locating the focus of your image on the intersect points.

In order to demonstrate what I mean, I have composed some very simple photos. I placed the rose head by eye, and it is not exactly on the intersect. But I wanted to show it like this, because in real life it will be approximate, and not measured precisely!

Below, you can see how I have carried this through to a styled flat-lay. Again, I have more or less placed the focal point on an intersect. In this case the vase of roses top-right. By placing it here, the eye is led across the image.

This is a really useful guideline to follow when you start trying your hand at styling, as the placement of the focal point can make or break a photo. But having said that, and as I have mentioned before, breaking the rules is part of the fun, and this is one I break rather a lot! If nothing else, it serves as a great demonstration of why sometimes, something looks right when you position it, and why at other times it just doesn't.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Emma x