The Rule Of Thirds — What’s That? A Lesson From Working At A TV Station

My first day on the job at the TV station KOMU, I was 18 years old. I was a freshman at Mizzou, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. I wanted to get my foot in the door, so I applied for a cameraperson position for the morning show “Pepper & Friends.”

I had no experience using such a huge, movable, expensive camera. It was taller than me — with huge wires protruding out the back that would get dragged along with it as you wheeled the camera around. Here’s what they looked like — I snapped this shot while I worked there:

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I learned a lot at the TV station. I started doing the cameras, then moved on to make the show’s graphics, and by my Sophomore year, I was on-air crew reporting in the field.

But on that first day, when I showed up and was being taught how to use this ginormous camera — the very first thing I learned was the rule of thirds. And it was actually a co-worker who taught it to me!

It’s one of the first, if not the first thing you learn in photography and videography: The Rule of Thirds.

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All images can be broken down into thirds — both horizontally and vertically. You’ll see nine sections cut out on our cute picture of Bella above. This is what the Rule of Thirds grid looks like.

People’s eyes naturally gravitate to those outer corners — not the middle of the photo.

This has been proven with various studies — and using the Rule of Thirds and positioning your subject in a place where eyes naturally follow just makes sense, and in turn, makes your photo flow.

So, there are FOUR places you can place subjects in photos to follow this rule.

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You can see this picture of Bella follows the rule — as she’s off-center and placed in one of those four important areas of a photo. Your eyes naturally go to her when you look at the photo.

Same below. I can guarantee you either looked at the window, chandelier, hallway, or couple at the bottom first. It’s because they line up with the grid.

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I learned this skill at the TV station when working behind the cameras — and it was one of the first things taught in class when I entered into the School of Journalism my junior year at Mizzou.

So, this is a great rule for photographers — beginner, intermediate, professional.

But, we’re artists, and we don’t put ourselves in a box. Rules are absolutely meant to be broken. So, you don’t have to follow the Rule of Thirds in every shot. But, if you do stray — make sure it has purpose!

Want to learn more? Here’s more in our “How To” series!

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Focusing On Sunshine: How To Deal With The Sun During Photoshoots

Since my entire area is flooded right now, I feel like focusing on sunshine. Something we desperately need. I would say “imagine you’re on an island,” but I actually am … no one can get in and no one can get out. But at least our house is safe, and so are we!

So, for today’s post, lets talk about Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun (please, please, please shine down on me)! Sometimes he’s great to work with —

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— and sometimes he’s a jerk.

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Although you can edit it so it looks like you did it on purpose.

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Like so:

The key is to just not let him mess with you in the first place. I prefer to find shady spots. But you have to be careful the shady spot you find isn’t “spotty.” You don’t want the sun shining through leaves and making weird splotches on people’s faces.

You don’t want squinty eyes, either. Don’t face the person toward the sun. Their eyes will water, they will squint, and your photos won’t look very cute. We want everyone bright-eyed and happy! No weird shadows on their faces!

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Another thing that helps you out is the timing of the shoot. Don’t set them for mid-afternoon, when the sun is highest in the sky. He can cause more problems when he has more sky to work with. My preference is to set photoshoots for the morning (unless you’re going for that sunset shot, and that’s a whole ‘nother blog post). In the summer, morning shoots can also be a lifesaver because it’s usually before it gets too hot!

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Ok, let’s recap!

How To Work With Mr. Sun:

  • Find a shady spot to shoot
  • Once you find that shady spot, make sure there aren’t weird shadows being cast on their faces by the sun shining through a tree, for example.
  • Don’t face people toward the sun. They will squint.
  • Aim to book shoots in the morning (unless you’re going for that sunset shot).

Want more? Feel free to check out more of Kansas City Photography’s “How To” series!

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Our New Website!

I tried to log onto the Kansas City Photography webpage last week. I was met with an error message. I may have panicked a little, but I figured it’d be an easy fix. I reached out to my web person — but it was crickets. My face was probably equivalent to Miss Luna’s:

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My bells and whistles started going off — and here’s why. This happened one other time, with the same web person. I reached out to him (the same one, I never switched) and he responded saying I needed to pay him to get it back online. I was confused as to why, and he said it was a maintenance fee, and he had to re-build it. I actually lost a potential wedding client over this — they had seen my site, loved my work, and then got concerned when my site suddenly went down.

You’d think I would have learned my lesson then … but, long story short, I stuck with him and he put the site back up (after I paid him again *grumble*), and it has been sunshine and roses since then.

Then, the error (again). And no response.

Instead of waiting around, this time I decided to go ahead and just build it myself. This way I can make changes and add photos any time I want, without having to pay every time I want an update. It was really a long time coming, I should have done it a lot sooner.

Go check it out and tell me what you think! –> http://kansas-city-photography.com

 

On a side note, I recently tried to get Kansas City Photography published on Wikipedia, but I need some press coverage for that to happen. They have really strict guidelines, and I meet all of them but that one. Stay tuned!

One Of My Most Important Photography Lessons: Shoot ‘Through’ Things

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri. Broadcast works a lot with the camera —  and one of the most important lessons I ever learned was to shoot “through” things.

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It completely changed my perspective behind the lens. It was one of those “ah-ha!” moments. Shoot “through” things. Things other people may not look at — it completely changed how I view the world.

Apply it to photography. See a cool shape? Shoot through it.

A fence or netting? Shoot through it.

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A bride’s veil? Shoot through it.

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How about a beautiful blooming flower? Find a space between the leaves and shoot through it to the subjects in the background.

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And it can be subtle. I was squatting down in some tall grass to get this shot!

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It’s not that every shot needs this “shoot through” treatment, but it should be a component to think about at every shoot. If you see your photographer squatting in the grass, or rolling around on the ground … they’re likely using this technique!

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