In this video we show you how Steve McCurry applies the Rule of Thirds in his photographs. The rule of thirds is a great composition rule for photographers. Not only for beginners, also for the best photographers in the world. Enjoy watching this video. You can find a transcript of this video at the bottom of this description.
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Welcome to this new RAWSTER Photo tutorial. Today we’re going to talk about the rule of thirds applied by Steve McCurry. Some people think the rule of thirds is only for beginners, but it isn’t, because the rule of thirds is actually applied by all great photographers. I’ll bring it to my screen so we can analyze some photos of Steve McCurry.
Let’s explain in 15 seconds what the rule of thirds actually is. Suppose this is your frame. You divide your frame by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines, and that’s basically what the rule of thirds is, because you create four intersections. According to the rule of thirds, you have to place your main subject in one of those intersections. So that is the rule of thirds. Let’s check some photos of Steve McCurry to see how he applies this rule.
This first photo is, like a lot of his work, made in India, and what you can see here is a beautiful man were the rule of thirds is applied. The face of the man is in one of the intersections, but most interestingly in this photo is the part of the first vertical line. What you can see is that the main person, the main subject, gets most space in the photo, so two-thirds of the photo is filled by the main subject. The other one-third is less important in this photo. So the least important part gets one-third in the frame, and the most important part gets two-thirds of the frame.
That is exactly what he applies also in this photo. This is the main subject of the photo. So two-thirds for the main subject, one-third for the rest. This is a good way to apply the rule of thirds. It’s not only about placing the main subject in an intersection, it’s also about dividing your frame by giving the main subject a bit more space than the rest.
In this photo, the rule of thirds is also applied. The main subject is here. Usually, what a lot of photographers do is, they place the main subject in the middle of the frame, and that’s why the rule of thirds exists. To avoid that! What you can see, the subject is placed on this vertical line with two intersectinos. So also in this photo, the rule of thirds is applied.
If you look at this photo, there are different composition rules applied, but the rule of thirds is also there, because the main subject, the building, is in one of the intersection. That’s also a great example how Steve McCurry applies the rule of thirds in his photographs.
In this photo, the same thing. The woman in the front, she is exactly in one of the intersections, but also here in the background, you can see that the subject of the background is on an intersection too. That’s what Steve McCurry does a lot. He always makes sure that the background is interesting enough, and usually you can see another subject in the background too. If you analyze his photos, often the subject in the background is also in one of the intersections of the rule of thirds.
You can also see it in this photo. The train is not in the middle of the frame, but more to the right, so it is actually in this intersection. The Taj Mahal is in the background on another intersection.
In the next photo, you can see the woman in the front. Her face is exactly in the intersection of the rule of thirds. The woman in the background is not in the intersection, but her shadow is. I think the shadow of this woman in the wall is a very nice detail of the photo. This photo is a great example of adding an interesting background subject that works very well together with the subject in the foreground.
Another way of applying the rule of thirds is by using the horizontal lines. The main subjects of this photo are the bicycles. The bicycles are in the lower horizontal line, so that’s also a good way to apply the rule of thirds. Usually, the horizontal lines of the rule of thirds are used by landscape photography. For example by placing the horizon in the lower horizontal line or in the upper horizontal line. This is a great example that you can use the rule of thirds in a different way.
In the last photo it seems like the rule of thirds is not applied, If you look at this you see there’s nothing in the intersections, at least nothing interesting. Actually, the people here are the subject that stands out most in this photo, but they aren’t in the intersection. What you can see very clear in this photo with the two horizontal lines is that the top of the stairs are on this horizontal line, and here you see exactly the same. And of course, that is no coincidence, because Steve McCurry is a great photographer. This is another way of using the rule of thirds.
What you can see, the rule of thirds can be applied in different ways. Sometimes you place the main subject in one of the intersections. Sometimes you play around with the vertical or the horizontal lines of the rule of thirds. As you can see, it can lead to great photographs. So the rule of thirds is not only for beginners. Also apply it yourself, because it makes your photos better. Thank you for watching this video. If you like this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, because more videos are coming soon.