In this months project, we’re going to be taking a very specific look into composition, and it’s relationship with the number 3.
By now, you may well be familiar with a whole host of compositional traits that will aid you in producing more engaging and visually exciting images. But what you may not be aware of is just how much any – if not all – of these aids relate to the magic number – ‘3’.
In this article, we’re going to be taking a good look at where the number 3 lies in a range of compositional tools, from the very obvious ‘rule of threes’, to more obscure and advanced techniques.
Why ‘3’?
It’s essential for us first to distinguish what makes the number 3 so important when we read an image. Why not 4, 5 or 6?
This is a fundamental question and to answer it requires a little bit of cognitive science. The brain will often group objects once recognition is formed. This is essentially a way of enabling us to very quickly organise and make sense of what we are seeing.
The objects can be the same or different. They can be close or far away. They can even be a mix of these and more. Either way, it’s the brain’s job to communicate and make sense of them, and so there will often be an organisation and recognition of things like symmetry, similarities and of course even numbers.
When we are presented with an image which contains 4 or more objects, the brain can start to group. Not only this but the image itself can start to become cluttered. The number 3 is the first number we can arrive at whereby the grouping doesn’t necessarily need to be formed. We can quickly clarify the number of objects or subjects in an image.
It’s easy to read, count and is said to be more satisfying across a range of disciplines, from storytelling, humour (in the form of build-up and release) and imagery alike.
Now, of course, this rule can be broken and played around with, but as we go on, we will start to see just why, where and how often the number 3 crops up and influences a whole host of photographic imagery.
The Rule of Threes
After the explanation above, it’s probably a little easier to see why the rule of threes is such a crucial compositional aid. The example here, from a street photography session, is a very obvious example of why the rule can be useful. In this instance, the subjects are pulled from the street environment and shot straight on.
They sit right in the middle of the frame and the space around them is very much linear to the edges of the frame – there are lots of parallels happening here. On top of this, the three individuals form a very satisfying diagonal through the frame, so there’s a real distinction made between environment and subject.
The humour element as documented in the opening explanation is also apparent here as the three individuals descend from happiness to despair it would seem!
The Rule of Thirds
There will often be times where the rule of three’s is not available to use. We can’t merely wander around waiting for three of ‘something’ to appear so we can shoot it. Sometimes it may only be two or just the one object you find intriguing. This is where the rule of thirds comes in.
Instead of objectifying three subjects, we physically split the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically and use this to play around with sitting our subjects within.
Not only does this offset that idea of symmetry – making it a little more satisfying for us to focus on a primary subject – but it also means we can use singular or groups of subject matter and place them in one area.
Be careful when using this rule, however, as having subjects sat at opposing thirds of the frame, for example, can mean the two battle against each other for attention and this can make for a quite awkward reading of an image.
Triangles and Distance
We looked briefly at how the number 3 can affect how we read an image, and it’s effect on our cognitive reading of things, but what we didn’t touch on was the use of triangles in an image.
If we were to take 3 points of interest, three subjects or any three objects in an image and drew a line connecting each, we would be left with a triangle – the exception, of course, is if these three elements were in a straight line.
Triangles are another very handy compositional tool and more than anything, aid us in creating a sense of distance, depth, and perspective in our images.
This is generally what’s known as converging or leading lines. Converging lines will be two lines that either meet at a point. Usually, a horizon-point or that grow closer together as the distance is perceived in an image, whereas leading lines can be just one of these connecting lines that drive our eye into an image and towards a subject matter.
Whether to and from a subject matter or directly from the edge of our frame, these lines will always form that triangle and create the sense of distance that draws the eye into an image.
In the image above we have an example of triangles and converging lines in the form of the long grassy area to the right-hand side, starting in the foreground. The walkway within the grass creates a sense of distance until the two points meet.
On the left-hand side, we have a better example of a leading line – in the form of the green line – which leads the eye from left to right, before disappearing where the pylons sit. This in itself then goes on to form a triangle with the left-hand edge of the frame and the distant horizon line of the landscape.
You will find that the use of triangles in your images will be far harder to implement where distance and perspective is not a primary concern. In the image here, the water edge and the stance of the photographer makes is a little harder to force the idea of distance.
The water is still and clear and the angle a little too high to create the kind of textural, foreground interest we saw in the grassy field example. As a solution to this, the photographer uses reflection and symmetry.
A seemingly flat image, with a focal point quite some distance away suddenly becomes quite an interesting composition as the reflection of the water mirrors the cloud formation draws the eye into the body of land being reflected in the centre of the frame. So distance here isn’t a primary concern, but the use of reflection turns what would have been quite a dull scene into one that is compositionally exciting and different.
There we have it. A more in-depth look into just how significant the number 3 can be in your composition. Perhaps take a look at a range of images that you’re particularly proud of.
Perhaps you could never quite put your finger on why you liked them so much. How many of these have some nod to the number 3? You may well be surprised by the result.
