There’s a photography rule that is a bit counterintuitive, but when you follow it, your photos (especially those you take on your phone) will have more emotion, more balance, and help better tell the story of the scene you’re trying to capture. It’s called the Rule of Thirds, and it’s very easy to implement: it can make photos feel more dynamic and intentional. It really comes down to how you frame your shot — or, as they say in photography, how you “compose” it — where a small change can have a dramatic impact on how your photos turn out. And while AI can help make photos better or even solve everyday problems, sometimes an artistic tweak is better, and after learning about and using this rule, you’ll become a better photographer.
What is the rule of thirds?
And how to set up your phone to use it
When you take a photo, you probably try to center the subject in the middle of the image, don’t you? According to the rule of thirds, that is not ideal, but instead, you should place the subject within the overlapping thirds grid lines as indicated in the image above (where you specifically have four overlapping areas you can use to compose the picture by placing the subject beneath one of those intersections). I’ll step you through some before-and-afters below, where you can see that using this rule takes a flat, boring picture and gives it more “tension” and depth, making it stand out.
First, we must enable these grid lines in your camera app. To turn on the Rule of Thirds grid lines:
In Android: Open Camera app -> Settings -> Look for Grid type, select 3 x 3
In iOS: Open Settings -> Camera -> Turn on Grid
That’s it. Now, when you open your camera app, you will have a 3 x 3 grid superimposed on your viewfinder, both in photos and video.
Pick any intersecting grid line and use that point to compose the shot
Under the rule of thirds, you have four choices of where to place the subject of your photo. For emphasis, I’ve marked up the above photo from the camera app to show where you should position the subject of your photo.
Why it matters
There are several reasons why you shouldn’t just center your subject in the middle of your composition and instead use the intersections of the 3 x 3 grid:
- It creates visual interest and drama. By placing the subject slightly off to the side, your photo will have more emotion and tension. This also encourages the viewer’s eye to wander around the frame and take in more of the context of the image, which can help to visually tell a story, which is what photographic art aims to do.
- It lets you balance negative space. By deliberately including negative space (the empty area around the subject), the photo feels more conscious and intentional.
- It adds narrative depth. Photos tell a story, and if you have a perfectly centered subject without much background, you’re not really telling the full story of the scene.
The rule of thirds in action
Some examples
Here are three examples of photos taken with the subject centered in the frame, resulting in a less interesting shot. In the second example, I lined up the subject off-center with the rule of thirds grid, and the result is a more emotional photo in each case that has more context: the photo of the playhouse includes other parts of the play equipment and has more harmony; the first photo of the tree is incredibly boring until I use the rule of thirds to give the photo more of the scene to include the fence; finally, the original vase picture looks flat and thoughtless, but taking the photo with the vase off-center within the rule of thirds grid gives the image much more depth and feeling.
More examples
It also works with people
Here are a few quick examples — a flower vase, a person, and a phone — where applying the rule of thirds by placing the subject off-center (especially in portraits) instantly adds more context, visual interest, and drama than a boring, dead-center shot.
You’re Missing Out on Better Smartphone Photos Without These Composition Tricks
Even the best smartphone camera won’t save a poorly composed shot.
Using the rule of thirds is easy and will make your photos pop
I hadn’t really paid much attention to the rule of thirds until I understood how it can really make photos pop. In fact, if you look at any magazine or publication where photojournalism is taken seriously, you’ll see countless examples of this principle being applied. And when it is, the resulting photo has more character than one with the subject centered in-frame. Taking wonderful photos (and videos too — the rule of thirds also applies to video) is about telling visual stories, and with the rule of thirds, you can become a better storyteller with the camera in your pocket.