Putting Your Photos on the Line

So, let's do a little something to help you take better pics, even with your cell phone.
The old master painters knew something about how to frame a shot.  I don't know how they figured it out, but they came up with something called the "Rule of Thirds."  They used it for portraits, landscapes, everything.
Here's a Rembrandt portrait.

If you look at it, you'll notice that nothing important is directly in the center.  The two key things, the faces, are near what we call the "third lines."  Here's the same painting with lines dividing it into vertical and horizontal thirds.

Somehow, the old dudes knew that the center of the frame is the last place the human eye looks to.  They learned to place important stuff at least on the lines and, hopefully, where two lines connect.  Because those four spots are the most interesting to the human eye.

Here's a shot from downtown Dallas I took a couple of years ago, with lines already added in.

But wait, you say, the horse is in the center.  Yes, it is.  But it's so dramatically framed by the building's architecture on the third lines that it works.

Most cameras today have a setting where you can see the third lines in your viewfinder when you take the shot.

Start thinking about putting stuff "on the line."  Your photos will improve dramatically.