Easily apply the rule of thirds on your smartphone photography

Are you annoyed with constantly imagining the rule of thirds on your smartphone screen when making a photo? Well, there is an easy solution to it! Let’s dive in!

What’s the rule of thirds again?

the rule of thirds with the eiffel tower and a statue
The statue and Eiffel tower are both on their own thirds.

First of all a quick reminder about the rule of thirds.

Imagine slicing your frame into 3 equally sized parts. First horizontally. And now again vertically. You end up with 9 equally sized frames. All separated by 4 lines: 2 horizontals, and 2 verticals.

Now, focus on the places where those 4 lines intersect. Those 4 points are where your eyes are naturally drawn in a photo. So try and place your subject on those points.

You can go a lot deeper into this rule, but let’s keep it as simple as that for now.

The easy rule of thirds on your smartphone

rule of thirds grid on your smartphone
The rule of thirds grid on your smartphone

Okay, so now, instead of imagining those lines, we are going to actually put them on our smartphone screens. It’s really easy to do.

I’m currently on a Huawei P30 Pro, which is an android device. Though, for iOs I can imagine it’s really similar.

  1. Go to your camera app
  2. Click on settings (the cogwheel in the upper right corner)
  3. Turn ‘assistive grid” on
  4. Tadaam, you now have the overlay on your screen!

Some additional tips for the rule of thirds

Grotten-van-Han
Here I positioned the water level more or less on the lower third.

Sometimes your subject is just too big to frame it on one intersecting of your grid. You can always use the lines too. Both horizontally or vertically.

For example, when doing a close-up portrait. You want to go close and fill your frame almost entirely with the face. Placing the eyes on the upper lines helps you draw attention to them.

Or maybe you are photographing a landscape, try positioning the horizon on one of the lines. The upper one if the ground is important, the lower one if your photo is about the sky.

Disclaimer: There is none, I just really wanted to write this piece of content for you. <3

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3 thoughts on “Easily apply the rule of thirds on your smartphone photography

  1. I have been an iPhone user for many years now, and I can say without a doubt that it has changed my life. I take pictures with the best of them and I am always able to capture what really matters in those moments.

  2. I have been an iPhone user for many years, and I can say without a doubt that it has revolutionized my life. I take amazing photos and am always able to capture the important moments in my life.

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