The rule of thirds is a universal principle in which photographs, video content and paintings should all be divided evenly into nine separate field spaces, creating three apparent subspaces, whose intersection with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines creates four points of visual interest........
.......So, yeah.
-Here, a woman snaps a photo of an alligator in the Florida Everglades. (Sawgrass Prairie, 2012)
These points of intersection are believed to exhibit greater focus and observation of any image. Notice how your eye naturally draws to look at the woman's hand. You notice her reaction (Int. 3) to the alligator (Int. 2), which is the main subject or action in this frame of view.
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rule of thirds
180°rule
"Don't cross the streams!" Remember that line from Ghosbusters? It's true. Your camera should never cross over the imaginary line or "axis" you project and align to that of your subject(s).
Cameras 1-3 are shooting properly. Camera 4 "crosses"
the line, or distorts the angle that we view our subject(s) on a side that doesn't correspond to their repeated observation (1-3).
-In this example, two people are present and interacting. A single camera or even multiple cameras can observe their behavior using the 180° rule.
Factoid for thought
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The Golden Section-1500s
Did you know Renaissance artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer believed that the "golden section" or the ratio of one part of an image equalling its double in the same image creates an aesthetic quality that mimics designs seen in nature?
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"Golden Section"; seashell