How The Rule Of Thirds Accompanies A Hand-In-Hand Experience, From Photography To Design

It is not just the golden rule within the realms of capturing images, but more so capturing any sense of visual symmetry.

From the time I was a young padawan, capturing images, whether in forms of sketch, or imagery had intrigued me. Starting in middle school, I had a defined passion for photography. I remember sneakingly discovering my father’s Pentax SLR. Even though it did not have any film in it, I fiddled around with the camera body. Peaking into the viewfinder, I pretended to *clickity click* different objects around the household and in the backyard. It was some of my best work I must say.

Transitioning into the high school years, my passion for photography grew even further. I started to study the parts of the modern DSLR, putting aside film photography ‘till community college. I acquired knowledge towards the meter, viewfinder, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and physical controls on a DSLR. All this came from my own research and a digital photography class taught by teaching guru Josh Sheridan. While educating myself, and a small group of students, Sheridan taught us a mass amount of information about the camera (including the aspects stated previously). During our first shoot, he commanded us to take imagery of anything on campus. Before he let us go, an important message was given: a tip to capture better photographs regarding the placement of objects. At first, we students were confused as to why this was such a big deal but went through with it anyway. After finishing up the shoot, we all headed up to the classroom for post-production. Placing a pause in our editing session, Sheridan finally explained the process of why a certain process of placing an object was so important. That process was the Rule of thirds.

THE GOLDEN RULE

Image courtesy of Andreas Wonisch, Photography Mad.

According to authors Seyed Ali Amirshahi, Gregor Uwe Hayn-Leichsenring, Joachim Denzler, and Christoph Redies, from Brill, the Rule of thirds is a technique where,

“…the focus point of an image should be placed along one of the third lines or on one of the four intersections of the third lines, to give aesthetically pleasing results…”

This golden rule can be used as a way to elevate any interface in any canvas. The LCD screen is a canvas. Some higher-end DSLRs have the ability to show a grid that perpetuates the rule. This is both ideal and necessary due to absorbing a creative image. It produces imagery that holds depth and strengthened emotional value. On the other hand, if a subject is centered directly within the canvas, it does not give off that same depth and emotional context.

Images courtesy of yours truly.

To illustrate both arguments, above are two sets of imagery. These photographs were captured at Fort Point, San Francisco on the same day and during the same time. Fort Point was a defense fortification that shielded enemy attacks to the United States military. This structure was built and implemented in the Second World War. The thought of war leads to the consideration of a certain mood. This mood, especially during post-World War II, is gloomy and depressing. The fact of the matter why is due with a fact that the United States was apart of war. A war, as a whole, that had led to mass casualties across all nations involved. Knowing this information, proceed to look at the images.

Between the two images, along with some knowledge towards the backstory, which one of the captures the acquisition of the gloom and war-tensed emotions better? Personally, it is the image seen at the left that furnishes more of the emotional, psychological, and fearful connotation, rather than the image to the right. One of the biggest reasons for this is due to the golden rule of photography. On the other hand, the left photograph lacks the same sense of judgment that the right image has due to not having such a strong composition, regarding the rule.

The photograph, towards the left, has the subject at the center. Now one could argue that the Rule of thirds could work. The subject is placed in a downward direction, with our eyes navigating through it to make it seem more interesting. Even if that is so, the meaning and essence are both not as strong, nor powerful, as the imagery on the right. This exemplification backs up the aspect that the Rule of thirds is extremely important regarding the world of photography, but also in design.

DESIGN — A DIFFERENT CANVAS, THOUGH VERY MUCH FAMILIAR

Image courtesy of Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros., & yours truly.

After high school, my interest in photography had lessened at that time. At that time, I was struggling to incorporate photography as a career, so I decided to play around with another interest of mine. The other that I had built up starting in middle school was design. Primarily my smaller, but strengthened, passion for design was in regards to user interface and graphical content. Furthermore, I ventured within the realms of user interface and graphic design. Not without letting go a certain rule though…

According to web designer and writer Joshua David McClurg-Genevese, the Rule of thirds is to,

“…take any frame of reference and divide it into thirds placing the elements of the composition on the lines in between…”

Sounds familiar ay?

McClurg-Genevese exemplifies the definition, in his quote. The Rule of thirds is a powerful tool in photography and design as well. This is seen in posters and user interface elements.