Improve your photos - "Rule of Thirds"

If you want to improve the composition in your photos then read this:

One of the most common rules in photography is “The Rule of Thirds” and an easy way to improve the composition of any photo is to follow this rule.  The idea behind this rule is to prevent the subject matter from being in the centre and landscapes to stop the horizon from dividing the photo in half.  Studies have shown the human eye naturally travels to the corners of an image away from the centre, artists for centuries have used this rule when painting.  

So how do you use the rule? 

If you check out the diagram above you can see that I have marked in green where the lines cross this is where you should place points of interest in the photo while lining the subject up with one of the lines.  So for example if taking a portrait photo you would want the eyes to be on or near green dots or in the case of person you would line the body up with on of the vertical lines while having the head/eyes fall on one of the intersections.  If you are taking a photo of a landscape you would have the horizon follow one of the horizontal lines which one is up to the photographer to decide which looks best.  

Here is an example:

Following this simple rule can improve pretty much any photo however as with all rules there can and are exceptions, but to be able to break these rules you must first master them.