help with rule of thirds.

[Alex_B]

you are right, but them flowers ain't moving I suppose

 

[Kathleen]

Thank you for all of your help. I think I'm beginning to understand...practice, practice....

 

[Trenton Romulox]

There's a very important thing to know about the rule of thirds:
Do not be afraid to disregard it.

Sure, it's helpful sometimes, and it works for some subjects. But don't get caught up with it. Don't be constantly worrying about whether your photos fit into the rule of thirds. I have been taking photos for only a few months, and I found myself leaving the rule of thirds rule in the dust rather quickly. It's not about following the textbook all the time, it's about making a photo that is appealing to you, to others, and tells a story, conveys a message, makes people think. And if to make someone think, to convey a message, to please one's eyes, means to disregard the textbook methods, so be it. Don't be afraid to experiment with very different compositional methods. Good luck.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

There's a very important thing to know about the rule of thirds:
Do not be afraid to disregard it.

Sure, it's helpful sometimes, and it works for some subjects. But don't get caught up with it. Don't be constantly worrying about whether your photos fit into the rule of thirds. I have been taking photos for only a few months, and I found myself leaving the rule of thirds rule in the dust rather quickly. It's not about following the textbook all the time, it's about making a photo that is appealing to you, to others, and tells a story, conveys a message, makes people think. And if to make someone think, to convey a message, to please one's eyes, means to disregard the textbook methods, so be it. Don't be afraid to experiment with very different compositional methods. Good luck.

like they say, rules (of thirds) are meant to be broken.

Now just to work on your post processing techniques to really make your colors pop.

 

[gizmo2071]

The rules aren't there to be broken... because they are not set rules to be followed. They are simply proven ideas that make images easier on the eye, whether you like it, or not.
Now they key is knowing which compositional rules to use in each case.
You don't have to just use one rule for a single image (you also don't have to use any, but you often do whether you try not to).
Rules of composition, a quick list:

thirds. (you know this one)
layers (foregroud, midground and background)
framing (using something at thre front of the scene to frame the shot, like a tree or arch)
isolation (probably the best rule for flower and macro photography. Single out a flower and make that the main subject. Use of depth of field and perpective.)
colours (often one that is not seen as a compositional element, but it sure is. Try to get contrasty OR complimentary colours to mix together. Think of the light spectrum, prime photography colours being Red Green Blue and the secondary colours are Cyan Yellow Magenta. Opposites being Red and Cyan, Green and magenta, Blue and Yellow.)
Compression (Using a telephoto lens will compress a scene, meaning that the perspective will show that the subjets seem to be closer together. This can be great to add impact to your image)

That will do for now, but there are a few more.

If you want to just take a picture to show what you see, then ignore these rules. If you want to take a picture to show what you see at it's best (or worse) then using some of the "ideas/rules" can really help.

 

[EOS_JD]

The rules aren't there to be broken... because they are not set rules to be followed. They are simply proven ideas that make images easier on the eye, whether you like it, or not.

Guidelines is the word i'd use rather than ideas. These guidelines should be followed but can be broken if you feel that your particular image will stand up on its own. Images using the "rule of thirds" (as it's commonly known as) will generally look better than those that don't conform to these guidelines. Learning to decide when and when not to use is an art.