Re: Rule of Thirds?

On 21 Nov 2003 21:01:32 GMT, Toke Eskildsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>I read a short article on about.com about the Rule of Thirds:
>http://graphicssoft.about.com/library/glossary/bldefruleofthirds.htm
>This article surprised me somewhat as I have never heard about such 
>rule. I do however know of the Golden Section.
>The Golden Section positions the lines approximately 38% from the edges 
>of the picture, whereas the Rule of Thirds positions the lines 
>approximately 33% from the edges. If I overlay the two types of guides 
>on an image, I find that the suggestions for composition are rather 
>different.
>I know that both the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Section are 
>suggestions only, but I'd like to know if I generally should stick to 
>the Golden Section or if the Rule of Thirds is just as valid? Is the 
>Rule of Thirds just meant as an easy approximation to the Golden 
>Section?

I've been an amateur (occasional for hire) photographer for over 20
years and this is the first time I've ever heard of the "Golden
Section"...I have, however heard of the "Rule of Thirds" pretty much
since the beginning.  In fact, I recall the first time I ever heard
about it was when one of my friends who was a semi-pro photographer
mentioned that I had an eye for composition after seeing some of my
earlier works and went on to  explain the rule of thirds to me. That
was about 20 years ago.