Rule of Thirds

It is common for photographers, especially new ones, to put their photo subject in the middle. While that is not wrong, considering how we view the world is in the center rather than the sides or peripheral, it is better to take photos in thirds. Imagine a tic tac toe game with the boxes and lines. 

Now, instead of using the boxes as a place to put your subjects, use the vertical lines on the left and right side as a guideline for your subjects. 

When it comes to scenery like the sky, you would want to place the ground in the bottom 2/3 of the shot view and the sky in the top 1/3 shot view. Or, you can also do the opposite and put the sky as the top 2/3 and the ground as the bottom 1/3. Either way makes the photo more dramatic and tantalizing. 

With close up portraits, use your subjects eyes as a sort of guideline on the vertical third lines and the top 1/3 lines. The rest of the face falls below to the 2/3 lines. 

With full length portraits, align your subjects body with either the left or right lines on the sides. Putting the head on the bottom/ center line (where the vertical and horizontal lines cross and meet) of the 1/3 and the rest of the body in the lower 2/3. This allows more room of the background scenery to find its way in the photo, providing more context, and thus making the photo more interesting. 

While you can easily go in and edit your photos to make it look like it was taken using the rule of thirds, it is much more challenging and exciting to consciously re-frame the scene in which you are taking the photo to match the rule. 

Be careful when you choose to use the rule because sometimes it is not applicable and a different photography technique may need to be used. Be meticulous.