Q.  What is the rule of thirds? What is defined as the “visual center” of an image?

A. The rule of thirds is a compositional rule indicating that visual interest is heightened when important elements of a composition are placed at the intersecting points of two equally spaced horizontal and vertical lines. If you placed the grid (below) over the photograph by Diane Arbus (above) you would see that she has placed all of her important elements at the intersecting points of the grid (particularly Christ’s eyes). The visual center is also defined as being slightly higher than the geometric (or actual) center of the image. Arbus has also directed our attention to Christ’s eyes by placing them slightly to the right of the visual center of the image.

See if you can find examples of images that both adhere to and defy this rule.