You are going to get more than you bargained for with this weekly challenge. Get ready to read...
I am a university level mathematics professor and I am passionate about photography! Yeah, I'm one of those nerds who finds math in everything...but really, mathematics is an integral part of good photograph composition. Where are the math haters? I know you're out there!
The Rule of Thirds is a perfect example of how math and photography go hand in hand. Basically, the Rule of Thirds states that if you divide the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically, the focal point(s) of your photos should fall on the intersections of those lines or on the lines themselves. Research confirms that our eyes are drawn to the intersection points of the lines that separate the frame into thirds and secondly to the lines themselves...not to the center of the frame (which is where most people place their subject).
Don't believe me? Here is a photo my cousin took of my husband during a fishing trip in 2008. The first image has him centered in the frame, just as she took the photo. The second shows the same photo but uses the Rule of Thirds.
You may see the improvement right away, but if you need a little more convincing, look away from the computer for a moment, and when you look back, identify the first thing you see in the original photo, what your eye is drawn to. Then repeat with the Rule of Thirds photo. With the original photo, the eye wanders a bit and finally settle on the subject, you may even find yourself looking at something in the water. In the Rule of Thirds photo, the eye is immediately drawn to the subject's face and the lines created by the subject's body and the bank in the background. The Rule of Thirds is so widely used that on most cameras, you can get a Rule of Thirds grid to appear on the camera's screen to help you set up your shots.
The Rule of Thirds can also apply to layouts; the focal point(s) of your layout should fall on the intersections of those lines or on the lines themselves. Here's an example: The 1st layout was done using a modified version of one of Cindy Schneider's Sequentials templates. To get the 2nd version of the layout, I applied the Rule of Thirds. In the course of modifying the template to fit the Rule of Thirds grid, I had to move the journaling and ended up making everything slightly bigger.
After applying the Rule of Thirds, my daughter's face (in the larger photo) and the point between Tinkerbell and my daughter (in the smaller photo) fall on the intersection points.
Now, don't get me wrong, the 1st layout is good (well, I think it is), but the Rule of Thirds made the 2nd one better by drawing the eye to what I determined to be the most important part of the layout...my daughter's face
Since I'm strange and scrap 8x10 layouts, this is my final version:
Ok, here is the challenge (finally)...
I want you to create a layout that uses the Rule of Thirds. Below is a link to a Rule of Thirds grid (PNG) that I made just for you. Make it the top layer of the document in your favorite program and line things up with it. You can start from scratch using the grid or use it to modify an existing template/layout.
Rule of Thirds Grid (PNG)
If you made it through all of my ramblings and choose to accept and complete this challenge, you will receive the 3rd part in my series of Autograph PPs (letters M-P).
If you want to see more examples of how you can use the Rule of Thirds in layouts, check out my gallery. I start every one of my layouts with the Rule of Thirds grid. This can become an obsession if you let it (I have
)...it's no accident that my photos are sized, positioned and rotated like they are. You can use the Rule of Thirds to crop your photos and then to align them in the layout, and don't forget about the titles and clusters; they can all be aligned with the Rule of Thirds grid!
See if you can figure out what I wanted to be the focus of these layouts.
