The relationship photographers have with composition is a complicated one. There’s much more to it than many people imagine, and it isn’t entirely subjective.
Some time ago, someone told me that they don’t like the rule of thirds. That somewhat took me aback. I never discovered the basis for his aversion, but there are more rational things to dislike than the 2:1 ratio.
If you don’t know the rule of thirds, at its simplest, it’s imagining the photo split into a simple nine-square grid with a horizon sitting on one of the horizontal lines, and a point or points of interest located where the verticals cross the horizontals.
However, like all rules in photography, they should not be adhered to with zeal. Extreme dogmatic adherence to a set of strict rules is never a good thing, although in photography, it probably brings less suffering than in other areas of life. But I call it the “as a rule of thirds” because “as a rule” implies that there are exceptions.
It's not the only layout available to use, but the rule of thirds works because it ticks a box in our brain that we (or most of us) like. That's because we have a natural tendency to process information in patterns; the number three is the minimum number of items needed to create a pattern.
Moreover, the 2:1 ratio approximates the Golden Section, a mathematical concept favored by nature and, consequently, by artists. If you open the crop tool in many editing tools and hit the letter "O" on your keyboard, it will bring up various overlays, including the rule of thirds. One of the other overlays is a spiral. Ctrl (or Command on a Mac) + O will rotate this around the screen, and you can use it to help crop your image to what might be an appealing composition.
The human eye also likes symmetry. This could be vertical, horizontal, or rotational. We can also be captivated by compositions that take us by surprise.
12 Principles of Design
Composition is closely related to design. The same things that architects, product developers, graphic designers, and artists use make a photo's layout work. Back in the mid-1970s, a cognitive scientist named Herbert A. Simon started to apply science to the concept of design, and he came up with twelve principles of design that are seen to hold today.
I'll emphasize this again because it's important. These “as-a-rules” have leeway. They are not intended as a painting-by-numbers means of achieving a perfectly composed photo. However, awareness of them, and studying how they have been applied in photos, can help us to consciously or subconsciously create better photos. We can also deliberately shun them to create disharmony.
1. Balance
Balance ensures visual stability through the distribution of elements. Balance comes in many forms. For example, we usually expect images to be bottom-heavy. We expect the sky in a landscape to be brighter than the foreground, and it feels odd if it is the other way around. Similarly, a heavy object to the left of the center needs balancing with elements of equal weight on the other side.
2. Emphasis
This is about visual weight. We highlight the most important parts of the image to draw the viewer's attention. There is a hierarchy of visual weight, from heaviest to lightest, and we arrange elements to show their order of importance.
- Size: Larger elements have more visual weight.
- Color: Bright, saturated colors carry more weight than muted tones.
- Contrast: High-contrast areas attract more attention than low-contrast areas.
- Position: Elements placed near the center or top of a composition are perceived as heavier because we see them as working against gravity.
- Texture: Detailed elements appear heavier than smooth ones.
- Shape: Irregular or complex shapes have more visual weight than simple, geometric shapes.
- Isolation: An isolated element stands out more, thus carrying more visual weight.
- Depth: Foreground elements have more visual weight than background elements.
- Direction: Elements that guide the viewer's eye (lead-in and leading lines) carry more weight.
However, I believe that in photography, something surpasses all these: the face.
3. Movement
Movement isn’t about showing moving subjects in a picture but creating the illusion of motion by guiding the viewer's eye around the image.
4. Variety
Including different elements to create visual interest and avoid monotony.
5. Unity
Making sure all parts of the picture work together harmoniously.
6. Contrast
Contrast is using differences in elements like color, shape, and texture to create visual interest. Johannes Itten ran the Basic course for Bauhaus in the 1930s. He identified seven key contrasts in his color theory, which are foundational for understanding color dynamics in art.
- Contrast of Saturation: The difference between vivid and muted colors.
- Light-Dark Contrast: The juxtaposition of light and dark hues to create visual interest.
- Complementary Contrast: The use of colors opposite each other on the color wheel, like orange and blue, but also using analogous colors that produce a more calming effect.
- Contrast of Hue: The contrast between different hues.
- Warm-Cold Contrast: The impact of warm colors (reds, oranges) against cool colors (blues, greens).
- Simultaneous Contrast: The effect that colors have on each other when placed side by side, such as a red square appearing more intense on a green background.
- Contrast of Proportion: The visual impact of different amounts of color within a composition.
7. Hierarchy
Arranging elements to show their order of importance.
8. Proportion
The relationship in size between different parts of an image.
9. White Space (or Negative Space)
The use of space around elements gives the subject room to breathe.
The final three are closely related but subtly different.
10. Repetition
Using repeating elements to create consistency and unity.
11. Rhythm 
Creating a visual tempo or beat through repeated elements.
12. Pattern
Repeated designs or sequences of elements.
Bringing It All Together
There is a lot to take in, and it is only just scraping the surface of what there is to learn about what I call the “as-a-rules” of composition.
Of course, when we head out with our cameras, we rarely consider these factors. Instead, we press a viewfinder to our eyes and think, "That looks good." However, awareness of what goes into a composition helps us analyze the photos and discover why a photo did or didn’t work. Moreover, by deliberately practicing each of the principles, we can build a portfolio of skills, bolstering our ability to compose better photos.
Composition is both objective and subjective. Those principles are guidelines. They can help make our images more compelling, but there are no absolute rights or wrongs. What fires your oven might not be the same heat that bakes someone else’s cookie.
Are there aspects of composition that you are drawn to? Are there reasons why others turn you off? It would be great to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Okay, I'll go first..... We really should rename it the guide of thirds. You are allowed to break it because at the end of the day it is a guide not a rule. If you think of it as a rule then every time you shoot you will have to shoot with that and I just don't think that is a good thing. Yes it adds balance to the photo and I acknowledge why it's there but there are many many instances where I've taken photos that did not obey the rule of thirds and I felt the image still had balance. I have attached an image as an example which is not rule of thirds. It's probably a quarter but if I was to go rule of thirds I would've missed out on all the beautiful light that was streaming down and that would've distracted from the image. I think the goal posts have shifted in Photography and we can now be a bit more free with our composition but still use the rules or guides as we should call them when we feel it's necessary.
as for the rule of 3rds, in your example photo. Our eyes go to all parts of this photo, except maybe the black part where your name is put. So the focus items of this photo is way more than a 3rd. But if I were to rate it, I would probably not give you full marks, because of the out-of-focus sky. Since in this case your eye is eventually drawn to the sky where the rays come from. It might be better, with some of that 'Top' cropped off, than we wouldn't notice it as much. But that's probably a different lesson entirely. But if that's what you meant by following the rule of 3rd because most of the picture was good. I'd personally get rid of what was distracting. Because the rays to the ground is the beautiful part, and entirely in focus.
The sky is actually not out of focus. It's a Long Exposure with a zoom lens so it's softens the sky obviously (8 seconds) This gives the illusion that it's out of focus when an actual fact it's not.
It's just that there was wind blowing and the clouds move. I was really just playing around with some different speeds. Here is the more traditional one shot at 1/80th of a second and it is very different. I actually like the top one better but traditionalist won't like it and that's okay but it's good to play with different speeds and also different approaches. It keeps my Photography fresh as I'm always trying something different.
I'm confused about what was meant in 'Proportion': I believe it is almost obvious that the picture example appears awkward. But I guess the point is that we should pay attention to what is the focus of the image? The boat (or the clouds), yet the boat is 3% of the image. So it was a negative example? Or maybe I didn't get it, maybe they were all negative examples? Some appear to be very good examples, of what your talking about. #9, whitespace seems very controversial too, in that many would complain that it should be cropped as a wider shot? Just appears to be white-space, but your saying, it needs that space. hmm. Then there's that red life-preserver, I think... Yes it has contrast, but I don't see how you can qualify this picture, as most of the picture is just gray-ness.
The rule-of-3rds yes of course is not a hard-and-fast rule. But it still can't be completely disregarded in thinking, you must look at what is your subject (or subjects).
This is a great deal of subjectivity when appreciating any photo. You don't like the white space photo? That doesn't bother me. All a photographer should worry about shooting what they like and if they do things differently from others, that's a plus in my book. I wouldn't like to be shooting photos with the same eye that you have, or anyone else when it comes to that.
Not all photographs have a single point of focus. It would be a boring art if we applied such limitations. It's perfectly okay to have the eye traveling between points in a picture. Take, for example, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. He painted it so the eye constantly travels in a triangle between her eye, the earing, and her lips. So, having two focus points in a picture is no issue for me. But that was not what the image was about. It's about how the two small fluffy clouds are enormous when compared to the yacht, and how the triangle of the sails are pointing at the cloud.
The lifebuoy illustrates the visual weight difference between that and the less saturated surroundings. It's not about light and dark but a contrast of saturation, which is exactly what you observed.
I would not agree with any of your criticisms of Nev Clarke's pictures because you are ignoring the visual weight when you think about how the images work. But, as I said, it's all subjective.
The best thing about "rules" isn't following them, but thinking about why you aren't following them.
Great discussion, Ivor! Thanks!
Anyone who just makes a blanket statement that they do not like the rule of thirds, either .......
Is being unnecessarily close-minded about creativity,
or .....
actually likes the rule of thirds, and just doesn't realize that they like it.
Some people have a hang-up with the use of the word "rule". These people mistakenly think that it means they are "supposed to" use thirds. They read a meaning into the word that simply does not exist in this context. They need to get over their odd misguided feelings about the word "rule", because it does not at all mean what they think it means and it does not imply what they think it implies.
"Anyone who just makes a blanket statement that they do not like the rule of thirds..."
Anyone who makes blanket statements about people who make blanket statements needs to stop making blanket statements.