“Grid”- A Hidden Gem inside your Smart Phone
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Scratching your head? Why your photographic compositions are not as good as a pro. Don’t worry, now you are at the right place to give a kick to your “Smart Phone Photography”. A little trick can change your world of photography.
In this smart phone era, capturing photographs becomes a cup of tea. Nowadays everyone can capture their precious moments just using a single button click. But if you want to take your photography a little further, here is the rule.
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The “Rule of Thirds” :
The “rule of thirds,” one of the main rules of photography, helps you get well balanced and interesting pictures. If you imagine the image in the frame divided into nine equal parts by two horizontal and two vertical lines, then you want all of your photo’s important compositional elements placed along these lines or at their intersections. That’s the rule of thirds.
Of course, rules should never be applied blindly, particularly in art, so you should think of it more as a handy “rule of thumb” rather than one that’s set in stone. However, it will produce a pleasing photo more often than not, and is an excellent starting point for any composition.a
Rule-of-Thirds Grid
But “where do I find out this grid in my smartphone and how do I use this Grid ?”
To help you apply this rule every smart phone has “Grid” option built into it. Go to your camera setting in your smartphone and turn on “Guidlines” in Samsung Phone, “Framing Grids” in Nokia phone and for iphone you will find “Grid” option under photos & camera section.
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How do I use this Grid?
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Portrait:
Portrait photo work best center of attraction overlapes with the intersections with a 3×3 grid.Since those intersections are key focal points,this creates a better sense of eye contact and engagement than placing them dead center.
Portait Grid
If you have more than one subject, try to position them all so that they are near an intersection on the rule of thirds grid.
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Landscape :
In landscape shots, it’s common to position the horizon along the centre of the frame, but this can give the photo a “split in two” feel. Instead, for landscape try to align the horizon with one of the two horizon lines near the centre of the grid (place horizon along 2/3 of the grid if ground is more visually interesting or place horizon along 1/3 of the grid if sky is more visually interesting).
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Landscape and People:
You can combine both the rules from Portrait and Landscape.
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Is there any way to apply “Rule of Thirds” after taking a photograph ?
Yes, you can easily apply the “Rule of Thirds’ to existing photos by cropping them using any image editing application. This allows you to reposition the important subjects in your image, moving them into more pleasing positions.
To help you, editing apps inside your smart phone have built-in “crop guide overlays” which include a rule of thirds option. This places a rule of thirds grid on top of your image as you crop it, allowing you to get your positioning spot on.
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Breaking the Rules :
As with all rules (at least in photography), the Rule of Thirds doesn’t apply in every situation, and sometimes breaking it can result in a much more eye-catching, interesting photo. Experiment and test out different compositions even if they go against any “Rules” you’ve learned.
However, learn to use the rule of thirds effectively before you try to break it – that way you can be sure you’re doing so in order to get a better composition, rather than just for the sake of it.
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One example of when to break the rule might include while capturing reflection, it is very common practise to place the horizon line in the middle of the composition to emphasize both subject and the reflection.
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“A lot of beginning photographers break this rule because they simply and innocently don’t know it exists. But, a seasoned photographer, one who knows better, not only abides by the rule, but knows best how to bend or break the rules……….”
If you’re looking to expand your creativity, experiment with the Rules of Thirds and see what you come up with. Let me know how it goes!
