Digital Photography

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THE SHOTS

THE RULE OF THIRDS

e rule of thirds is a design theory or guideline

that is primarily based on the study of an image’s

composition, balance, and overall structure in

relation to the nal creation of the work.

It was rst written about in 1797 by John omas

Smith in his book, Remarks on Rural Scenery. In

the book, Smith quoted a 1783 work by Sir Joshua

Reynolds that discussed the calculable balance

of dark and light in a particular painting. Smith

expanded on Reynolds’ ideas and wrote about the

intersecting lines at play in an image, which he aptly

called the rule of thirds.

e theory or guideline of the rule of thirds suggests

that ...