Quick Tips: Using the rule of thirds
[ Music ]
^M00:00:02
>> I'm Brian Cooley with the Quick Tip on taking better pictures with your digital camera using the rule of thirds. This is an old artists technique from way back that allows you to get away from the all too frequent symmetry of centering everything up when you take a picture. That's frankly usually a boring way to do things and it doesn't really tell a story that well. Instead, think of your photo like this. There's your over all view and then divide that in thirds, two lines across, and two lines up and down. Where the lines intercept, these four places are great areas to put the main subject. Let's take a look how it works in practice. Catherine is sitting here in front of a wall of bamboo, and if I took a standard composition, I would center her up in the shot, take the picture like so, and it's fine. It's a serviceable photo, but it's not great. What if I do this? I put her on the left third line and a little bit down to the corner, so it's a little bit on that node in the lower left that I showed you. Now I take the same shot, and it's more interesting to my eye. Now I can tell she is seated along a really interesting long depth of bamboo on this long running cement seated area. It tells a little bit of a story. Another way to use the rule of thirds is when you're taking a picture of the horizon or a landscape or a cityscape. Instead of putting the horizon or the main line right across the middle, consider lining it up with the bottom or even the top third line horizontally. Same thing goes for the verticals if you're taking a picture of anything vertical, whether it's a building, the side of a wall, what have you, use these grid-lines and their intersections as places to put things and you'll get much more interesting photos that lead the viewer through a little visual story. So, do better than the average snapshot. Do your composition using the rule of thirds.
^M00:01:49
[ Music ]
Up Next
Perform a factory reset on your Chromecast
Up Next
Perform a factory reset on your Chromecast
Use a USB device to install PS4 updates
Use a USB device to install PS4 updates
Stream PS4 games on the PS Vita
Stream PS4 games on the PS Vita
Setting up parental controls on the PS4
Setting up parental controls on the PS4
Schedule Do Not Disturb in iOS 7
Schedule Do Not Disturb in iOS 7
Samsung Galaxy S4 navigation secrets
Samsung Galaxy S4 navigation secrets
Hide embarrassing or private Facebook activity
Hide embarrassing or private Facebook activity
Access hidden Netflix streaming settings
Access hidden Netflix streaming settings
Boot directly to the desktop in Windows 8.1
Boot directly to the desktop in Windows 8.1
Tips and tricks for using less data on iOS 7
Tips and tricks for using less data on iOS 7
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
What AirPods Rumors Tell Us About Apple's Health Ambitions
What AirPods Rumors Tell Us About Apple's Health Ambitions
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro