What is the rule of thirds?
The rule of thirds is basically breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically), so that you have 9 parts. As follows.
As you’re taking an image, you would have done this through your viewfinder or in the LCD display, that you use to frame your shot. With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider, placing points of interest in as you frame your image. Not only this, but it also gives you four ‘lines’, that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.
The theory is, that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines, your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images, people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally, rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image, rather than working against it.
In addition to the above picture of the bee, where the bee’s eye becomes the point of focus. The next time I went out I decided to try this within my photos, to really get the viewers attention to the object of my choice, these were my results:
For the people, I decided to use the head of my friend and statue as the area I wanted the reader to instantly look too, where as the flower the seeds as the focus, and the rib-cage in the carcass.
The genres for this photo are street photography, journalism, documentary photography and portrait.
Technical
The photo had a long exposure time and therefore this created a high contrast image. The lighting at the scene is predominately natural daylight. The shutter speed must have been fast in order to capture the moving trolley full of people- however, it’s possible that the trolley stopped for a period of time and therefore the shutter speed could have been longer. The image is black and white with a vast tonal range (Ansel Adams zone system) which supports both the darkest black [000000] and the whitest white [ffffff]. Finally, the image uses the rule of thirds and as a result of this, the eye is drawn into the centre most part of the image.
Visual
The image is naturally split into three sections due to the rule of thirds; the top, middle and the bottom third. The image is also naturally framed due to the background and white stripes. Although the image is tilted slightly it doesn’t lack the aspect of symmetry. The texture of the trolley is successfully portrayed in this image along with various patterns such as the bolts in the lower half of the image. Furthermore, the contrast between white and black in both the photo and the social situation is extremely vivid.
Contextual
This photograph explores the divide between black and white people in America at the time. It also shows the difference in classes and ages; the older woman looks as if she’s turning her nose up at the photographer whereas the kids look very interested, this could be due to the fact that they’ve never seen a photographer before and are fascinated by the equipment and concept of taking a photo. The photo was taken in 1955, the year of the African-American Civil Rights Movement (a movement that sought to challenge the views of society on people of colour and rebrand America as the land of equality).
Minimalism is a modern idea within the 20th century,it is about specific components such as color,shape,line and texture.It is highly subjective as artwork itself. leaving interpretation and meaning up to the viewers perception of the work.Some photographers use this in order to tell a story of a act of photojournalism but in a easily presented manner to the audience.
the best aspects are surrounding the openness and embracing the freedom of interpretation.There is no real direction to minimalism but photographers can still focus on issues or a specific subject matter. Some other photographers would argue it is about simplicity and the audience creating their own feel or interpretation of the image itself. Some techniques are consistently used to employ and enhance the impact of the work.There should be a consistent notion that is wanting to be captured.
It can be seen within this piece in order to direct attention to a specific point of view,possibly because this kids the most detail or it is aimed to promote a certain aim of development within the image itself. The images are developed through a certain line within the mage,a certain single aspect of the image,or a texture.
My experiment within minimalism:
within these photos I simply wanted to capture the lines and highlights within the piece itself. I then decided to further edit these images to create more of a colour impact to the piece itself.
here you can see the final edited image that I have lowered the saturation for and also developed the thickness and how dark the lines are to give a greater focus on the minimalist dimensions of the piece itself.
within this image it is edited to show black light within high saturated edits,then also turned into squares for an even overall finish.I was inspired by the artists Keld Helmer Petersen who wanted to achieve an international collection of experimentation shapes inspired by ranger patsch. He also developed poetic realism within his work and modernism within photography.
He eventually adapted and developed the intellectual structuralism to art and photography,he liked to capture leafs and trees against grey light and patterns created within nature.He started to become more abstract within the enlarging of his images focusing on the microcosm of nature.
I chose these images due to their defined lines and shape within the pieces. I thought the compositions of the pieces where also quite interesting as there are many dimensions and angles to the piece themselves.
this is a clear example of his work and how he different from using more simplistic images to more complex lines but overall still achieved the same tonal range and detailed effect of the image.
I think this photo expresses Frank Hallam-Day’s theme of passage of time on works of man well. He highlights the bright colour yellow and also the brown to emphasise the weathering of the ship hull. He contrasts the work of man (ship hull) with nature (water) to express the affect nature has. The photo is split into the rule of thirds horizontally and one line vertically, creating a grid shape to show the sections within the photo of different patterns like weathering and rusting. The middle section has different levels of rust from where the sea has been, expressing that the ship hulls where once technological achievements but are now just sitting in the harbour. He contrasts the bottom of the photo with the top half, the bottom half having a lot of marks and patterns, and the top being one bold colour. The marks on the ship hull create interesting reflections on the sea and he has increased saturation to emphasise the rust in the reflection.
The black and white emphasises the different races and the repetition of the physical bar standing between the people, and the rest of the bus, shows the segregation and categorises them individually. The photograph demonstrates the rule of third as it has vertical and horizontal lines. It also shows signs of Ansel Adams zone system, the brightest point being the white bars.
Conceptual
The idea that America in the 1920s wasn’t a great life for everyone , and racism was a apart of everyday life, revealing the cruel reality of the ‘American Dream’.
Technical
The photo has natural daylight as Robert Frank was a documentary photographer. The photo was taken on the streets so has no artificial lighting. He used a fast shutter speed as the photo is very sharp and not blurred so if the bus was moving at the time he captured all the detail.
Contextual
The 1920’s was a time of racism and prejudice and it was uncommon for photographers to tackle the issue of racism at the time.
This image is taken from Robert Frank's book 'The Americans' which focuses on post war American photography and society at that time. This image named, 'Trolly' which was taken in New Orleans, 1955 focuses on the citizens of New Orleans. The subject of the photo, the people, is made clear from the composition and framing in the photo, Frank's has made a deliberate choice to crop out any other surrounding objects that may distract from the subject, another factor is the way that the windows frame each of the intended subjects which makes them more focused, the use of the rule of thirds also creates an interesting composition. At a first glance the photo seems as if it is just showing people going about their every day lives, but there is much more of an intention than that, during the 1950's there was a clear racial segregation between white and black, this is shown through the seating on the trolly, with the white people at the front and the black people at the back and I think that it was Frank's intention to show this. Frank's has used a fast shutter speed to capture all of the detail and to create a clear image of the people and trolly, the image is also has a high contrast and deep depth of field both of which add to the atmosphere of the photo.
Trolley, New Orleans, 1955, Robert Frank ”The Americans”
The analysis of photographs consist of 4 elements these are:
-Visual
-Technical
-Conceptual
– Contextual
Analysis of Robert Frank’s ‘Trolley’
Visual: This photograph consists of various visual aspects. One of these aspects is the tone of the image due to the time it was taken. The monochrome tones allow the viewer to focus more on what the photograph is trying to capture rather than it’s details, and also shows a contrast between the races in the photograph. The photo consists of various natural frames, these natural frames surround the different goings-on within the photo allowing the viewer to look at each part separately without the distraction of another. The window frames of the train represent a separation between different classes and races, showing the hierarchy of power at the time, from the left to right. The rule of thirds is present in the image as it is split up into 3 sections from top to bottom, which gives the image extra focusses other than the main one in the centre. Although the image does mainly consist of foreground (the train) There is still an even depth of field as Robert Frank still keeps the background of the image clear.
Technical: The image has been taken using a natural light source, this could be a contrast between the nature and the unnatural social and racial issues of the time. There is a low aperture that is used to capture the background of the image sharply and to ensure that the entire image is focussed. The image would have probably been taken with a considerably fast shutter speed in order to capture the movement of the train sharply rather than the motion being evident. The image overall has a large tonal range, with the top of the image containing mainly light tones the centre containing a balance of tones and the bottom containing mainly dark tones, which could also represent the racial hierarchy of the era with white people believing they were above people of other race.
Conceptual: The white man is separated from the other passengers on the train as he is covered by the transparent window, this represents how he would’ve been protected by society at the time. The order of power at the time is shown from left to right which links in with the contextual side of things. The white bars between the separate frames/windows represent the power of white at the time, and how it was them who were separating themselves from black people during that era.
Contextual: This photograph was taken in the 1950’s. At this time the US was suffering from massive racial issues of segregation. This is due to the fact that equal rights hadn’t been introduced and racism was heavily influenced by the general public through political and governmental actions. This caused a segregated system on public transport, which is why in this image the African-American people are situated at the back of the train and the White-Americans are situated more forward. There was also issues with gender equality, as at the time of this photograph the US was a patriarchal society, that is why the males are situated in front of the females within each gender. So overall the image shows the massive social changes in society since the 1950’s.
rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.This is on order to create a successful and visually pleasing formatted composition. It can allow a direct view of a subject or the type of depth you would like to capture. It can also exaggerate editing within blurring and also subjects such as ISO.
Using the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.It can be used by using a visual of tow lines formatted at each angle on the screen or possibly within dots for slight dissidence as to where to place the main subject of the image.
The rule of thirds was written by John Thomas Smith,this was written back in 1797 in order to find the perfect way in how to capture rural scenery,
You can clearly see the horizon and how it sits equally in the middle throughout the lines.,this divides the image into thirds of the lower two sections. The tower is the point of interest directly in the middle of the second line.The sky also develops with color over the horizon.
within this image you can see the rule of thirds of how the rock is alined within the first line with the rest entering back to become equal with the second horizontal line.There is also a tree centre and this achieves an even overall effect.
As you’re taking an image, you would have done this through your viewfinder or in the LCD display, that you use to frame your shot. With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider, placing points of interest in as you frame your image. Not only this, but it also gives you four ‘lines’, that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.
The theory is, that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines, your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images, people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally, rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image, rather than working against it.
In addition to the above picture of the bee, where the bee’s eye becomes the point of focus. The next time I went out I decided to try this within my photos, to really get the viewers attention to the object of my choice, these were my results:
Image Analysis:
