Taking Photos Like a Pro
Composition Basics to get you started
Let’s get one thing straight. There are no ‘rules’ in photography. It’s an art form, so it’s open to interpretation and opinion.
There are guidelines to help you compose a picture that’s pleasing or interesting to look at, that leads the eye to the subject, that balances the ‘frame, or creates specific effects.
But they’re not rules.
So, let’s start with the first one.
The Rule of Thirds
I know, I know. So I just said there are no rules, and I opened with something called ‘The Rule of Thirds’.
But that’s its name. Much as I would like to call it ‘the general guideline of thirds’, the official title rolls off the tongue more easily.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter what it’s called. The point is that it’s a simple way of dividing the frame to help you compose pictures.
So what is it?
Well, the idea is that when you’re looking at the image on your camera, whether through a viewfinder or on a screen, in your head, you divide the image roughly into three parts, both horizontally and vertically.
Now, many cameras overlay a grid on the screen. Indeed, my iPhone does.