Assignment 3: Composition Video, Rule of Thirds

For this assignment, we had to take about 30 photos based on a central theme, using the principle of compositions and the rule of thirds, and then compile those photos into a video.

The first part of this assignment was done in-class, and for the other part we were given about a week to take more shots to complete our video.

Embedded below is a video of the photos I took:



The theme I chose initially was chairs. I went around campus and took photos of them, trying to vary each shot compositionally. I was told that my photos were a bit boring (oops), so I decided to change my theme to cutlery instead. I layed them out on a table and arranged them in different patterns. Most of these were taken  from one angle only, so that the cutlery appears somewhat 2-dimensional, giving more focus to the arrangement

Now, on to explaining the Rule of Thirds. What is it? Well, it's one of the most basic principles in design and photography, involving how to achieve good compositions using a specific grid.

This grid divides your canvas into thirds. The intersecting points of the grid are generally good places to place your focus point, that is the part of your image that you want to emphasise.

Here's a gif from wikipedia to illustrate:

And here are a few examples of photos that utilise the Rule of Thirds:

(via digital-photography-school.com)

(via photographymad.com)

(by John Watson)

(via stephaniebrayblog.wordpress.com)

One mistake that most beginners (and I myself have admittedly done), is to divide the canvas into two equal parts. While this can sometimes be pulled off, it generally is better to create a focal point that is not directly in the centre of the canvas. Hence, the Rule of Thirds is a simple way to add variety to a composition! :]