Dump the rule of thirds?

[Peekayoh]

http://www.diagonalmethod.info/

[Visual Reality]

Interesting. I will try playing with this in LR.

It would be helpful if camera makers allowed us to change the "grid" in the viewfinder to methods like this, and others like:

[Beowulff]

Oh dear.....

Yet another photographic image "theorist"! Do we really need to worry about this alleged issue at all?

The point that Edwin Westhoff misses entirely is that the 'rule of thirds' (and for that matter his diagonal method) is purely and absolutely arbitrary. If he presumes to judge all images on that single criterion being the defining quality, then he's gonna miss out on enjoying a lot of famous (and not so famous) images!

There's thousands of photos out there, and thousands of old paintings that totally ignore either of these concepts.

Westhoff is making an issue of something that simply doesn't need to be an issue. Is he doing it for notoriety, or money, or for ego? Who knows.

It's interesting to note that he's selectively chosen images that satisfy his theories. Try it with Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" (the geometrical arrangement of which is based on a vertical isosceles triangle) and you'll find Westhoff's silly rule doesn't hold water.

I also had to laugh at the way he blithely dismisses any images that don't "fit" his theory — When the important subjects (whatever they are?) are not on the diagonals, there is a good reason this is done. Apparently (and he seems to know LOL) the composition of the bigger parts (again, whatever they are?) is simply more important!

Ed will have to try a lot harder to convince me, although I'm guessing his sycophantic little band of students are sucking it up it up like so much sodium thiosulphate.

[SpecialK]

http://www.diagonalmethod.info/

If L Ron Hubbard had written a "cropping guide", this would probably be it.

[seanhoxx]

Everyone seems to have theories or ideas, and hey if something someone else comes up with works for you, or a part of it can be another tool to use or play with so be it. There is still a lot of good stuff photgraphers can learn for the old oil and canvas masters, I have posted this link before but I think it is very informative and educational.

http://digital-photography-school.co...its/#more-1922

[Beowulff]

Thanks for the last link.

It's interesting that it shows Mona Lisa framed as an irregular quadrilateral (rather than as the normally accepted triangle). Usually, the lower vertices of the triangle are pushed down to nearly coincide with the points of Mona's elbows, with the lower edge of the triangle laying horizontally along top of her left forearm.

Interesting theory about the "missing" columns too. Hadn't seen that before.

Cheers

[sparkie1263]

Sean, I read that somewhere before and was going to look for it. Glad you posted it.

Frank

[Peekayoh]

I expected this to provoke more debate.

[SONYNUT]

Rules are for sheep.......

[seanhoxx]

Maybe instead of rules we should call things like this GUIDES or applcable theories LOL I found the Mona lisa article interesting the first time I read it and have passed it on since.
'irregular quardrilateral" also known as 'arrow head' You just wonder what lead to that lay out? and the missing colums, early cropping tool lol. I have looked around for other mathmatical or the like assessments of other great works but have not found any.