Photography Bay » Rich Legg

Simplifying the Rule of Thirds

Rich Legg — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:18:37 +0000

In this article, contributing author and stock photographer, Rich Legg, offers some tips on using the rule of thirds. You can learn more about Rich and how to connect with him at the end of this article.

One of the first things commonly emphasized to novice photographers by those who claim to be more knowledgeable on the subject is to “Follow the Rule of Thirds”. While this is sound advice, the phrase can be confusing especially to someone who has never had it explained to him or her. For me personally, I can still picture my high school photography teacher Mr. Cressop explaining it on the blackboard back in 1981 (wow, that’s a long time ago!).

What is the Rule of Thirds?

Simply put, the Rule of Thirds is just one of many tools photographers can use while composing their image. Here’s how I instruct it to the students I teach: Place four evenly spaced imaginary lines across your image, 2 horizontal and 2 vertical, and use these lines as a guide for arranging the objects in the viewfinder. I have even further simplified it to some (mainly children) by suggesting that the shooter imagine a “tic-tac-toe” board over the photo.

Once you can imagine these lines, place the subject very near a line and, when possible, arrange the main focal point of the subject where two of the lines intersect. In doing so, the visual appeal of the photo will increase dramatically. This is because of how the human mind processes the image and the balance created with this formula will decrease tension and make the photograph more pleasing in the viewer’s mind.

A common mistake that many beginner photographers make is using that nice circle in the center of the viewfinder to point at the main subject of their photo. While this technique might work well for military snipers, it can lead to some pretty awful photo compositions. We can all probably tell stories of our great aunt (or in my case, mother-in-law) showing us the family photos she’s taken where the top-half of the shot is filled with empty headroom.

Tips for Using the Rule of Thirds

To help photographers overcome this problem, many camera manufacturers have taken to placing third-lines into the viewfinder and/or LCD screen. I know that on the point-and-shoot Canon G7 that I have had in my daily-carry bag for a few years, the LCD has an option to display these convenient aids.

On the sample image above that I am using for this tip, I took one of my favorite bird photos and added yellow rule-of-third lines to illustrate the process. When composing the photo I placed the bird on the right most vertical line. The main focal point of the bird is the eyes and beak, but I found that if I placed them on an intersection point of horizontal and vertical lines the photo was a bit bottom heavy.

Instead, I placed the bird’s body where the two nearest lines meet. Doing so creates a pleasing composition since the bird’s head is close enough to an intersection to take advantage of the rule. Had I taken the same photo and composed it differently by placing the bird in the center of the image, the result would not be as pleasing.

Since I’m on the subject of image composition, the shot of the hawk above demonstrates another “Rule” that can be followed to make a shot more pleasing. In most situations it is desired to have the subject looking toward the center of the image. If the bird were looking to the right rather than the left, the photo would not be as pleasing to the viewer’s eye. In fact, to many people it would just “feel uncomfortable”. The same can be said for motion. If the photo is of a subject in motion, compose it so it is moving toward the image’s center.

It’s More of a Guideline

Finally, remember the old adage “Rules are made to be broken”. There are plenty of times when a more pleasing image composition can be created by breaking the Rule of Thirds rather than following it. Try using this rule as a guideline and see if your work improves. After a while you might even find that you naturally line up your images this way without even consciously thinking about it.

Rich Legg is a stock photographer for iStockphoto. You can follow him on his blog, LeggNet’s Digital Capture, at leggnet.com or on Twitter at twitter.com/leggnet. His stock portfolio can be seen at RichLegg.com.

Photographing with the End in Mind

Rich Legg — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:52:20 +0000

In this article, contributing author and stock photographer, Rich Legg, provides a lesson on pre-visualization in photography. You can learn more about Rich and how to connect with him at the end of this article.

One of the skills I have worked to develop that has helped my photography is to take a page from the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and “begin with the end in mind”. How I relate this to photography is that I strive to always take time before I shoot a subject to create a mental picture of what I plan to photograph and how I will capture it. Famed photographer Ansel Adams called this technique pre-visualization. By taking the time to pre-think the shot, I find that I am able to create a better end result.

I make my living creating stock images that I sell through iStockphoto. When I am planning a stock photo shoot, the first thing I do is take time to envision what I want the final images to look like. I will generally come up with a few “signature” shots that I want to capture in the photo shoot. Once I have the images visualized in my mind, I then make some quick notes detailing what I want. These notes then serve as a sort-of blueprint which I use when determining what models, locations and props I will need to complete the photoshoot.

Here is an example of this pre-thinking and planning of a photograph. This sample is one of my early stock images that began as an idea sketched out on a piece of paper late one night.

I had the idea of creating a simulated crime scene. I was able to picture in my mind a body laying in a doorway with light streaming in through the opening behind the body and crime scene tape across the scene. My original sketch (which I now wish I would have saved) showed a very similar scene to what was represented in the final image.

As you’re reading this you might be thinking “Yeah, that’s fine for a stock photographer – but not for me because I shoot nature, kids, macro, etc…”. Pre-thinking and planning ahead can benefit nearly every photographer. I have found that even when shooting images just for fun rather than profit, taking a few moments (even as short as just a couple seconds) to pre-think the shot will yield better results.

Last week when the weather in Northern Utah moved to the mild side, my daughters and I took our dogs to the dog park. Knowing that a visit to the dog park usually involves a fair amount of time sitting around watching the dogs have fun, I brought along a camera to see what I could capture. While watching the dogs running all over the enclosed park, I decided I would shoot an image of my dog Holly as she jogged by.

In just a few short moments before shooting her I created a quick list in my mind of what I wanted the shot to include – shallow depth-of-field, low angle, head on view. Armed with this mental picture I was able to quickly put myself in position to take the photograph. While the final result isn’t exactly what I pictured ahead of time, it is pretty darn close.

If pre-visualizing a photo before shooting it is not something that comes naturally to you, I would recommend making up a short list that can be easily referenced. By forcing yourself to take the time to think about (or look at if need be) a short list, you will begin to develop the habit of pre-planning your images. Here are some suggested items for putting on the list:

Where is the focus point going to be?
Narrow or wide depth of field?
Vertical, horizontal or tilted composition?
Where is the light source coming from?
Would it be better shot from a high or low angle?

Like every rule of photography, there are instances where breaking it can lead to a great photograph. Probably every photographer can tell a story of a great shot they’ve captured as a spur-of-the-moment grab shot. But by taking time to plan ahead for the majority of your photos, you may find that you will begin to subconsciously apply these traits in your quick unplanned shots resulting in better images.

Like nearly every photographer I know, I am always looking for ways to improve my work. If you’ve got some pre-shot techniques similar to what I have described that you use and would like to contribute, please take a moment and share them in a comment.

14 Days With a 5D Mark II

Rich Legg — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:03:54 +0000

In this article, guest blogger and stock photographer, Rich Legg of LeggNet.com, provides his impressions of the first two weeks with the Canon 5D Mark II. You can learn more about Rich and how to connect with him at the end of this article.

I have been living with my 5D Mark II for two weeks now, and while I will leave the detailed reviews to the professional reviewers, I thought I’d share my thoughts so far.

I make my living as a stock photographer shooting exclusively for iStockphoto and Getty Images. In addition, I supplement this income with freelance work. My workhorse camera body for the past couple years has been the original 5D, and it has served me well. When Canon introduced the new 5D Mark II in September, I jumped at the chance to upgrade my production camera to this 21 megapixel beauty. Shooting primarily stock photography, I didn’t need all the features of the 1DS Mark III (focus points, weather sealing, etc.) but I really wanted to up the resolution of my images. The new 5D fit my needs perfectly.

I placed my pre-order the morning of the announcement in September and waited. Thankfully, my local dealer (Pictureline) was one of the first retailers in the US to receive stock. With my early pre-order, I was able to walk out of the store with the camera on the morning of November 25th.

My initial thoughts on holding the camera after un-boxing was that the body felt more rugged than its predecessor. After further inspection, I believe the main reason for this is the combination of the improved rubber gripping and the rougher finish on the magnesium body. In a side-by-side comparison with my original 5D, the older camera is extremely smooth in contrast to the new textured surface of the Mark II. I do wonder though if the smoothness of the original 5D has been enhanced by wear. Otherwise, with the exception of the larger LCD and a couple new or repositioned buttons, the camera handles just like it predecessor.

After shooting a quick image to post on my blog showing that I had the Mark II in hand, I charged the battery and began putting the camera through some test shots. I received it on a Tuesday and had an assignment shoot the next day so I wanted to test it out thoroughly before putting it into service on the shoot. I ran through several scenarios at various ISO settings then pulled the card to inspect the images on my production Mac. Everything checked out so I moved my original 5D into the backup position and packed the Mark II for the magazine assignment.

The camera performed flawlessly in the magazine shoot. The assignment called for three images from a high-end steakhouse to accompany an article. The first image was a close-up of a filet mignon on a table, the second was a portrait of the owner/chef and the third was a shot of the dining room. For the first two images I operated no differently than I would have with my original 5D. For the dining room shot though, I was able to put to use the Mark II’s improved image quality at higher ISO’s. I shot the dining room at speeds between ISO 1000 and 1600. This is something I would have never done for a paid assignment before, but the images from the new camera were exceptional at this speed. I would compare them (un-scientifically) to the results I would have received at under ISO 400 on the original 5D. This made me smile.

The next outing for the new camera consisted of an impromptu Photowalking Utah event on Thanksgiving evening in Salt Lake City. I joined up with six fellow photographers for a nighttime stroll around the downtown area. Typically on an outing like this I would have carried a tripod and shot all my night shots with long exposures. Since I was carrying the new Mark II, I loaned out my tripod to another shooter (he forgot his) and opted to go handheld at high ISO settings. Using a 20mm f/2.8 prime for the majority of my shooting, I pushed the ISO to 6400 and went to town.

While the resulting image quality at these high ISO settings is not something I could use for stock work, the pictures were definitely usable. I found that I was constantly rolling the ISO between 1600 and 6400 to suit the scene I was photographing. I was so encouraged by the results, I pushed the ISO to 25,600 for a proof-of-concept shot in an area that was nearly too dark to see. As can be seen in the image below, while the shot is in no way perfect it did capture detail and color at this ridiculously high ISO setting.

After shooting high-priced steak and photowalkers, it was finally time to put the camera to use on a studio stock shoot. I had a baby girl coming in for a stock session and this would be the first use of the camera in-studio. Everything handled and functioned for me just as it would have with the original 5D, with a couple of exceptions. The biggest surprise for me of a new feature that I didn’t know I would use is the “Quick Control Screen”. This function mimics all of the settings that are on the top of the camera in the small LCD to the right of the prism, but instead displays them on the spacious color LCD on the back of the camera. I have mapped the “SET” button on my camera to bring up this menu. I find this an extremely useful way to make quick changes to f/stop, aperture, or any of the other shooting functions. In a darkened studio, this came in very useful.

When it came to editing the large 21 megapixel images on my production Mac, I had to make a few adjustments. My workflow consists of shooting images in RAW mode and using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to convert them before editing in Photoshop. Since Adobe stopped updating the ACR converter for Photoshop CS3 prior to the release of the Mark II, this necessitated an upgrade to CS4. The image quality from the new camera is fantastic. I find the color representation of the unedited images to be more true on the Mark II compared to my original 5D. The images are a bit cooler, but I always seemed to be cooling down my 5D images with a white balance adjustment anyway. After one session of working with the large images though, I jumped online and ordered a memory upgrade to bring my production iMac from 2gb to 4gb of memory. I found that I was quickly slowing down my system when working on several of the full-resolution images at once.

There have been some rumblings on the internet forums about “Black Dots” appearing next to blown out highlights on the new Mark II. I have seen no indication of this on my camera and have even tried to recreate the problem by purposely overexposing shots of city lights without success. [Ed. - This issue appears to have been diagnosed and somewhat resolved.]

So far I am extremely pleased with the purchase. To think that I upgraded from 12 to 21 megapixels and picked up all the new features for $300 less than I paid for my original 5D is amazing. I guess we should thank the new full-frame competition from Sony and Nikon for this. I look forward to continuing to put this camera through its paces and learning more about what it has to offer my photography.