Composition - Rule of Thirds
The most oft-advised technique to good composition is to use the rule of thirds. There are two aspects to the rule of thirds and understanding how they work and interrelate is not difficult at all.

The basic picture scene will have three major elements of:

Foreground

Middle-ground

Background

These elements are self-explanatory and although they may seem more appropriate for a landscape image, they can still be used and applied to other photos such as portraits or abstracts. Being aware of these three elements and how they should be positioned, isolated and enhanced will provide you with a basis to avoid the typical subject-centered image with a 50/50 split that many novices seem to do in the beginning.

The central four points of the middle rectangle - outlined in red - represent the key points of the composition and it is at one of these four points that you would place an important subject matter.

There seems to be something about the rule of thirds that seems to provide humans with a just-right view of things.

The advocacy of the rule of thirds is good one to teach learning photographers but it should not be a rule written in stone. For once, you know and recognize the rule of thirds, you will find it everywhere and it holds the danger of being routine and unoriginal as a 50/50 scene split or centered subject.

Be bold and experiment for every subject will have a composition that could focus in on it and that may or may not be the rule of thirds. Therefore, while the rule of thirds is a quick and dirty method of getting an acceptable composition, it may not be the best method for your subject.

Take another look at the Grand Canyon shot with a rule of thirds grid imposed on it. It would lend some credence to the notion that subconsciously, humans may see a scene a certain way and without any preconceived ideas of what is a "good" composition, they will gravitate towards those tendencies.

You will notice that near the four middle points in the grid are some important elements to the scene.

  • The foreground rock mass is near the lower right point
  • The middle ground diagonal line starts at the lower left point
  • The middle ground plateau starts off near the top right point
  • The background canyon area starts one-third of the way down from the top of the frame leaving the sky to occupy the top third

The middle ground area occupies much of the lower third of the frame