Top 6 “Rule Of Thumb” In Photography You Should Stick By

Updated on June 23, 2023 in Photography by Alifiya Mustafa

If you’re a photographer, you must be aware of these 6 Rule of Thumb in photography. Following these rules will make sure that you never fail to take amazing photographs.

What Are The Rules Of Thumb In Photography?

1. Follow the rule of thirds

The first rule of thumb in photography is to follow the rule of thirds. In the rule of thirds, you divide the frame into 6 equal parts. Then, you place your subject in the left or right third of the frame, leaving the rest of the parts open.

This rule of thumb in photography ensures that the focus of the viewer is instantly brought to the subject. Although there are many composition techniques, the rule of thirds is a must follow. It never fails to make an image look well-composed, appealing, and professional.

2. Meet their eyes

If you’re capturing portraits or have a particular human as the subject, then always focus on their eyes. It doesn’t require the subject to look straight. You need to meet their eyes wherever they are in the frame.

This rule of thumb in photography gives the image an aim and a short story. Also, the eyes of the subject play a huge role in directing the viewers. You must’ve noticed that a viewer always follows the eyes.

If your model is looking up, the eyes of the viewers will also move in that direction. If your model is looking at a product or a tree at a distance, the eyes will be led there unconsciously.

Thus, it helps you add an interesting element and attractiveness to your image.

3. Look for their faces

This rule of thumb in photography implies when you’re capturing a group of people, people walking on streets, or candid images of people moving around.

When capturing such photos, always expose their faces. This adds life to your image and makes it more eye-catching. You do not need to intentionally ask every person to look at the camera, but find the angles where most faces of the mass are visible.

Capture a random photo of people moving in the street. Now capture the same image while applying this rule of thumb in photography. You’ll be able to notice an immediate difference in both the images captured in a similar setting.

4. Leave white space

Leaving the white space or negative space in your photos is an extremely important rule of thumb in photography.

Imagine that you captured a beautiful image that you want to use on your website. But, at the time of using it, you realize that a lot of it has to go during cropping and resizing. This completely ruins the image and all you’re left with is an unprofessional, half-available image.

Therefore, it’s crucial to leave some unnecessary white space that can be utilized during cropping, resizing, and setting the margins.

Since large images have more pixels, even after the cropping, you’ll have a pretty good high-quality image. If you follow this rule of thumb in photography, you’ll never have to say goodbye to any amazing image.

5. ISO

ISO controls the camera’s sensitivity toward the light. The lower your ISO, the lower will be your sensitivity to light, and vice-versa.

There is a simple rule of thumb in photography for ISO, keep it as low as possible. The minimum ISO that you’ll find in general cameras can go to a minimum of 100. But if we consider that you have enough light in the room, it’s ideal to keep the ISO 200.

6. Shutter speed

The general rule of thumb in photography for shutter speed is that it should be twice as much as the focal length of your camera lens when handholding the camera.

If you’re a beginner and finding it hard to set your shutter speed, then keep this in mind – your shutter speed should exceed or at least match the focal length of your lens.

Bonus Read

These rules of thumb in photography are a few full-proof ways to capture images without ever going wrong. Though photography is all about being creative and crossing boundaries, these can be used for every style and every image.

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