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Today's Daily Shoot assignment is "Make a photograph that uses the rule of thirds composition in a very obvious way and post it."

When I shoot my photos I always do so with the rule of thirds in mind, but I don't always follow it precisely. I imagine a tic-tac-toe board, and try to make sure my focal point is at one of the cross points on that imaginary board, but sometimes one must adjust or break the "rule." In the case of the photo above, I shot it with this very challenge in mind - Linda's face, which is intended to be my focal point - is approximately one third of the way down the frame, and one third in.

With the photo below, though, I did frame it with the kids' faces about a third of the way up (which leaves 2/3 above, and works well with landscapes), but it was unbalanced, so I cropped it so their bodies were generally near that 1/3 up "line." This puts the kids' faces closer to the center of the photo, but since there's still head room and there is a "dividing line" at the upper third (the grass/fence), this works for me. This one is included only to explain some of my "rule of thirds" thought processes.

Now, if I were to print this photo (and I might) I think I would crop it to 20x10 and cut out the sky. I actually really like this version except for some squintiness.

As you can see, I have decided to try to include a bit more about why do what I do with my photos. (Oh - I also want to note - I let the kids pose themselves for this one. I just told them to put themselves in "this" general area and make sure they could see the lens. They did a good job!) Thanks for stopping by!