{"id":368,"date":"2014-03-15T18:35:03","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T18:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/?p=368"},"modified":"2018-06-23T16:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T16:18:28","slug":"the-rule-of-thirds-part-2-breaking-the-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/the-rule-of-thirds-part-2-breaking-the-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Rule of Thirds” – Part 2 – Breaking the Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the 2nd part of a 2-part blog on the “rule of thirds”. Part 1 focused on demonstrating what the rule is and how to follow it. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you should probably read that first. Part 2 focuses on breaking the rule. <\/p>\n

I should start out by saying that the rule of thirds is a good guideline which more often than not results in a better overall image. However, sometimes breaking the rule is a good thing. This blog is going to focus specifically on the #1 reason I break the rule\u2026 that is to create or take advantage of symmetry<\/strong> in a composition. <\/p>\n

For example, in the following image of the Green Tree Python, I placed the snake’s head dead center. This goes against the rule of thirds, but works well because of the symmetry of the snake. If I had placed the snake’s head at one of the four intersections of the rule of thirds grid (see Part 1), the image would not have been as strong.<\/p>\n

\"coiled,frog<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Symmetry<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Perfectly symmetrical sleeping Green Tree Python<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Close-up portraits where the subject is looking straight at the camera generally look better composed dead center. I really like the composition in the Carnivale model portrait below because of the symmetry in the mask and costume.<\/p>\n

\"burano,<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Elegance<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Close-up portrait of a gorgeous Carnival model in a bright purple costume<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same applies to the cathedral shot below, which works well because of the perfect symmetry of the cathedral. I could have composed this shot with the top of the church pews 1\/3 from the bottom of the image. However, the church pews are much less interesting than the beautiful walls and ceiling, so I opted to de-emphasize the pews by keeping them at the very bottom of the image.<\/p>\n

\"building,cathedral,chicago,church,illinois,midwest,nicholas<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Saint Nicholas Cathedral<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Interior shot of Chicago’s own Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Combining symmetry with a slightly off-center subject can work very well as a composition. Notice the foreground below is mostly symmetrical, while the sea stack (the main subject) is composed slightly off-center. The sea stack is not quite at the top right rule of thirds intersection. The symmetry of the foreground holds the image together, while the slightly off-center sea stack really draws your eye in this case. <\/p>\n

\"beach,cloudy,coast,coastal,crashing,evening,north<\/a>
<\/p>\n

End of Day at Rialto Beach<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

A beautiful sunset on the shores of Rialto Beach<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Look for opportunities to create symmetry in your photos and don’t hesitate to break the rule of thirds in those cases.<\/p>\n

If you would like to read more about the rule of thirds, you can also check out the following article at Photography Talk:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.photographytalk.com\/beginner-photography-tips\/7148-the-rule-of-thirds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the 2nd part of a 2-part blog on the “rule of thirds”. Part 1 focused on demonstrating what the rule is and how to follow it. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you should probably read that first. Part 2 focuses on breaking the rule. I should start out by saying that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-composition"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t