The Concept of Thirds in Photography

 Back in the 1970s, I was very much interested in photography and when I was in the Navy and we visited Rota, Spain (a US Naval Base), I purchased a PENTAX slr camera with several additional lenses for about 1/3 of what all that would have cost me in the USA.

The camera came with a leather case and I was advised by one of the "lifers" to buy a metal strap because someone with a sharp knife could cut the leather and steal the camera off my shoulder.  That is exactly what I did...  however, no one ever tried to steal it from me that I knew about.

One of the first techniques you should learn is the concept of thirds.  Study the photo above...  notice the crisscrossing lines.  These lines divide the frame of the lens into thirds...  right to left and top to bottom.

You should also notice that there are four points where two of the lines go across each other.  It is at these points that you should place the focus of the shot that you want to take.

This is illustrated in the photos below...