Hello, fellow photographers, I'm Sabine.
And the title of today's video is The Rule of Thirds and When to Break It.
I'm sure most of you know and use the rule of thirds already.
So in this video, I'm just going to give
a brief introduction of the rule of thirds,
and then I'm going to dive right into why this composition technique might not
always be the right choice for your photos.
And I will show you other effective ways to create impactful compositions.
Starting out in wildlife photography, you'll probably find yourself shooting
left, right and center without paying any attention to composition.
And who can blame you? As a beginner photographer
there's so much to remember
and those fleeting moments of wildlife really do encourage you to just snap away.
Then you learn about the rule of thirds where the frame is divided into nine equal
rectangles by drawing two lines down and two lines across.
The ideas to now position important elements like the horizon.
or the main subject along any of these lines.
Another option could be to place key elements such as the head or the eye
of your subject on any of the intersection points.
So why does that work better than placing your subject dead center in the frame?
Well, people like to look at movement. So in order to enjoy a photograph,
we need to feel there is some movement in it, or at least some potential movement
or at the very least something happening outside of the frame.
If the subject is right in the center,
there is no movement and the viewer's eye is directed straight to the subject and it
stays there.With the rule of thirds applied the subject is in the left or right,
third or two thirds of the frame, and therefore it seems to be in motion.
Your eye wants to follow it
into the opposite third of the frame and it feels like something is happening.
And that is exactly why the rule of thirds is such a powerful compositional tool.
In-camera grid overlays and editing software
crop overlays make it super easy to follow and fine tune the rule of thirds,
And with no time you'll be able to apply it without much thought at all.
But that is also where the danger lies in getting stuck in a habit.
If you see the rule of thirds as a rule, all your photographs eventually will start
to look alike and in the long run will lose their effectiveness.
If you, however,
look at it as a guideline, then you can make a choice whether to use
it or not, depending on the scene in front of you.
Before I continue on how to break
the rule of thirds, if you do like our channel and the content
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So let's have a look at the different ways
on how to break the rule of third in wildlife photography.
The first and most obvious alternative to the rule of thirds is placing your
horizon or subject right in the center of the frame.
A prominent horizontal line in the dead center of an image perfectly bisects it
and gives equal weight to the two halves of the image.
Shooting a subject centrally works particularly well when using a portrait or
square format, where there often simply isn't the horizontal space to allow
the subject to be placed off to the left or right of center.
An animal or bird from the front that is looking straight down the lens lends
itself to be framed in the center, rather than using the rule of thirds.
This way the viewer is directly drawn to the subject, reducing the importance
of the setting or backdrop, and creating an impactful portrait.
You might also place the subject dead
center cropping in tightly to avoid any distractions. Here,
you might partially adhere to the rule of thirds by placing both eyes
on the intersecting lines, even though the subject itself is centered.
So you are both obeying and breaking the rules of thirds at the same time.
In case of symmetry and reflections, photographs tend to look again more
pleasing and balanced if the subject is in the center.
As much as we like to look at movement,
we are also attracted to symmetry, which gives us a feeling of peace and serenity.
So whether there is symmetry around a subject
or within the subject itself, we can center it and the symmetry will
bring balance and purpose to the composition.
Please keep in mind, though, that if you center your subject or horizon,
then make sure that it is exactly in the center. Slightly off
is already a much weaker composition and has less intent about it.
And if you didn't manage to perfect it
in the camera, you can always crop it later to get it just right.
Quite an unconventional way to compose
an image, but one that sets you apart from the crowd is to use the very extremes
of the image frame and leave some negative space.
It can feel risky and daring, plus it needs to be done skillfully.
But if you pull it off, it certainly is different.
For example, if you've got an interesting
sky and a relatively featureless landscape, give most
of the frame over to the sky and drop
the horizon right down with your subject situated right at the bottom.
For a minimalistic approach the sky, could also be uniform and empty,
defining the positive space or main focal point.
Having large spans of empty space can
really draw the viewer in and completely change the mood of an image.
Additionally, you can experiment with the subject
bursting out of the edges of the frame or have it quietly occupying the bottom
of the frame, encouraging the viewer to explore the setting in more detail.
Positioning wildlife on the far left or far right of an image can also be very
effective as the eye is set to track from left to right when viewing a photograph.
So the effect can be quite different, depending on whether you put your subject
on the far left where the eye starts to observe or on the far right where it
ends up having viewed the rest of the image first.
Be cautious though not to frame your subject, or horizon and too close to the edge without
any breathing space as that might look awkward.
Last but not least use the image corners.
They are often forgotten in wildlife photography and being darkened as to draw
more attention towards the center of the frame.
It's a bold move,
but try and use the corners more actively and see how it feels.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas and thinking out of the rule of thirds books.
If you have any additional tips on composition,
please leave them in the comments down below and if you would like to join me
on safari in the near future, there is also a link in the description.
Thank you so much for watching and I hope to welcome you soon here in Botswana.
Bye bye.