2019 - 10 - 23 - Rule Of Thirds

I was at a photography exhibit the other day and was reminded about how many of the concepts of good photography directly impact instructional design. Not only because photography is used in instructional design but because of the very often very visual nature of our work. While it is possible to have 100% life instruction with no physical materials or 100% audio materials more often than not we are going to have a visual element. So I wanted to explore a bit of what we can take from photography either directly or indirectly. Today the idea I wanted to share is the “Rule of Thirds” many cameras and most phones have the option to overly a “grid” over the screen to help in composing our photography. The one I find most valuable is the two vertical and two horizontal lines that break the image into six boxes. This helps us frame using the rule of thirds which states that if we place our main elements on those lines with an emphasis on the for cross points we will end up with a more appealing image and overall better composition. My recommendation today is turn on that grid if you don’t already and try to get in the habit of using it.