Rule of Thirds with the Nikon D3100

One of my most read posts is Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel T2i so now that I have a Nikon I figured I'd do the same thing. The Nikon D3100 has 11 focus points compared to 9 on the T2i. Below is a series of photos taken with each of the 11 focus points. As best I could I aligned the focus point with the hole in the bird house. The pictures are screen captures taken from Lightroom crop screen so you can see the Rule of Thirds grid lines. Click on an image to view a larger version of it which will make it much easier to see the grid lines.

Seems over time my PhotoShop skills have gotten worse instead of better. I suppose it doesn't help that I rarely use PhotoShop :). Above is a simulated focusing screen for the Nikon D3100. The numbers represent each of the focus points. The numbers below each picture shows which focus point was used to take the shot.

01 - Taken with the center point which puts the focus right in the center of the screen.

02 - Kind of handy because it falls just above the upper grid line.

03 - Bingo. This is the focus point you'll want to use to align things in the upper right hand intersection of the rule of thirds grid.

04 - Too far right.

05 - Could be useful since it intersects the vertical grid line.

06 - I'm wondering if I didn't get the camera lined up properly for this shot. I would have expected it to be closer to the intersection of the two grid lines than it is.

07 - Handy for alignment along the bottom grid line.

08 - Like #6 I expected this to be closer to the intersection of the grid lines.

09 - Handy for alignment on the left vertical grid line.

10 - Too far left.

11 - Very close to the intersection of the grid lines like shot 3 was. I will use this one for subjects on the left side of the scene.

Hope this helps!

Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel 7D

If you read the previous post I did regarding the Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel T2i then you already know the scoop behind this post. If you haven't either click the link above or here's a brief introduction. Below is a series of pictures shot using each of the 19 focus points on the 7D. The objective is to see which of those points line up with a rule of thirds grid.

Simulated 7D Focusing Screen
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Another masterpiece I created all by myself. Move over Scott Kelby there's a new Photoshop guy in town :).


Keep in mind the focus point was placed, as close as possible on the hole in the front door of the bird house so we'll be looking at how close that hole is in relation to the rule of thirds grid lines.

01
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This picture was taken using focus point #1. As you can see using the center point doesn't come close to any of the grid lines but still for birds in flight this is the point I'll use most often.

02
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #2. It's better because it falls just below the upper horizontal line.

03
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #3. As you can see this is very close to falling on the exact intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines. I'll be using this focus point more in the future.

04
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #4. It's not even close so unless it gets selected when shooting using all 19 focus points I'm not likely to use it.

05
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This shot was taken after moving the focus point to #5. It's a little low as far as the upper horizontal line goes but because it is pretty close to the horizontal line it's worth using.

06
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #6. Because it falls well out side of either line I'm not likely to use it.

07
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #7. It's close but not really close enough that I'd likely use it.

08
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #8. Like #3 above this one is pretty close to falling right on the lower right hand intersection. This will be a preferred focus point in the future.

09
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #9. Again it's close but not quite close enough in my book.

10
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #10. It would to in a pinch if I couldn't select a better focus point to use.

11
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #11. Close but not close enough. 

12
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #12. Like #3 and #8 before it I'm making it a preferred focusing point.

13
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #13. Nope, doesn't cut it, IMO. Which is odd because 13 has been a lucky number for me.

14
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #14. It will work since it falls along a vertical line but it's not an optimal focus point.

15
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #15. It can join #13 in the I won't be using focus point club.

16
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #16. It's close but not likely to be used very often.

17
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #17. Bingo another one that comes very close to matching the exact intersection. So far we have #3, #8, #12 and #17 in the preferred focus point club.

18
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #18. It falls above the upper horizontal line so I probably wouldn't use it.

19
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #19. Although it falls below the horizontal line it's pretty close so I suppose it could be used in a pinch.


So in my opinion the optimal focus points to use with your 7D if you want to follow the rule of thirds are #3, #8, #12, and #17. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss....

Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel T2i

Recently I've noticed a trend where photographers have been talking about getting it right in the camera to minimize the amount of post processing that is done. One way of getting it right in camera is, if you follow it, is to use the rule of thirds when composing your shot. If you're not familiar with the rule of thirds here's a very brief overview of it.


For any picture if you were to place a tic-tack-toe grid over it where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect are the best spots to position the main subject of the picture. There's more to it than that but that should give you a basic understanding which is all that's needed.


This morning I was experimenting with the Rebel T2i and wanted to see if any of its 9 individual focus points aligned the a rule of thirds grid. I mounted the camera on my tripod and then one-by-one shot the same picture using each of the 9 focus points. Afterwards I loaded the images into Photoshop and added a rule of thirds grid over them.

Simulated Rebel T2i Focusing Screen

I have some mad Photoshop skills don't I? I created that simulated focusing screen from scratch! In each of the photos below, numbered 01 through 09 the number below the photo corresponds with the focusing point shown above. For all shots I focused on the hole in the front door of the birdhouse. Also you can click on each image to view a larger version which makes it easier to see the grid.

01

This 1st picture was taken using the center point. As you can see everything is nicely centered between the two vertical lines of the grid. The center point is probably the most used focusing point when folks don't use all 9. I know I used it a ton when shooting sports and still use it quite a but when trying to shoot birds in flight. The center focusing point is also the only cross-type sensor on the camera which means it works better than the remaining 8 due to its extra sensitivity.

02

This 2nd picture was taken after moving the focus point to #2. As you can see it does a pretty good job of aligning with the intersection used by the rule of thirds. I plan to use this focusing point from now own whenever I want to compose a picture where the main subject is in the upper right hand corner.

03

This 3rd picture was taken after moving the focus point to #3. As you can see it's outside of the grid lines so I really can't think of a time when I would use it off the top of my head.

04

This 4th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #4. Just like with #2 is does a darn good job of lining up with the rule of thirds grid. So far points #2 and #4 are on the "to use" list.

05

This 5th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #5. While doesn't line up with one of the vertical lines it does remain on the lower horizontal line so it's one I would use in a pinch. #2 and #4 remain my preferred choices for subjects on the right side of the frame.

06

This 6th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #6. Like #2 and #4 before it I'll use this one for subjects appearing in the lower left hand portion of the frame. We're up to three preferred focusing points #2, #4, #6.

07

This 7th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #7. It has the same issues as #3 only on the opposite side of the frame.

08

This 8th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #8. Like #2, #4, and #6 it does a very good job aligning with the horizontal and vertical intersection of the grid. It's one I'll use for sure.

09

This 9th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #9. Like #5 it falls along the horizontal line so it's one that I'd use if for some reason I didn't use #2 or #8.


Am I trying to say that I'll only use 5 of the 9 focusing points on the Rebel T2i from now on? Nope, not at all. What I'm suggesting is when you want to follow the rule of thirds (and we all know rules were meant to be broken) I'll use focusing points #2, #4, #6 and #8 as the composition I'm going for warrants. I would encourage you to repeat this same sort of test with subjects you like to shoot. 

Oh and for the curious all shots were taken with Donna' Rebel T2i and EF-S 55-250 lens set at 55mm. Lens and camera were mounted on the Induro CT314 Tripod. Aperture was set to f/8 and shutter speed varied, ISO 100.