A basic principle of good photographic composition is known as the rule of thirds. By dividing your photo into vertical and horizontal thirds and positioning the focal point within the crossed lines, you can improve the visual appeal of your image.
If you haven’t followed the rule of thirds while taking your photo, you can improve your pictures after the fact in your digital darkroom – Photoshop Elements! PSE even has a handy tool that helps you visualize the thirds. Using this makes easy work of cropping and improving the composition of your photos.
If you are like me, you have taken hundreds (or thousands!) of photos. When we are in a hurry to get a shot, it’s easy to forget all of the rules and guidelines of good composition. We may have placed our subject in the center of the shot or placed the horizon in the center of the photo. This may make our photo look uninteresting and dull. Cropping to change the composition can make that ho-hum photo into a great shot.
This adorable photo is visually exciting because the important parts of the photo – the child and the skyline – are placed along the imaginary lines and intersections that illustrate the rule of thirds.
Step 1: Create a Grid
To begin, open a photo that could benefit from cropping. To be safe, duplicate it by selecting File > Duplicate. This makes a copy of your original so that you don’t accidentally overwrite your photo.
Get the Custom Shape Tool. This tool “hides” under the Rectangle Tool. You can access the Custom Shape Tool by clicking and holding the Rectangle Tool until the hidden tools are revealed. Scroll down the flyout menu to choose the Custom Shape Tool.
In the Options Bar, select Create a New Shape Layer. Click the down-facing arrow beside the Shape image to reveal the Photoshop Elements shape picker. Click the double right-facing arrows on the shape menu and choose both Large Thumbnail and All Elements Shapes. Scroll down the Shape Picker to locate the Grid Custom Shape. Finally, choose a color that will contrast with the colors in your photo.
Click and drag out the grid over your photo. Your grid may be horizontal or vertical. This technique works either way.
As you drag out the grid, you may notice that the important parts of your photo do not fall on the lines and intersections. For example, the photo above can be improved by cropping so that both of the subjects are placed along the lines and intersections.
Step 2: Reposition the Grid
This step will help you determine how you’ll crop the photo. Get the Move Tool and select the Shape Layer.
Drag the side handles to resize and reposition the grid so that your subjects are positioned along lines or intersections. Pay special attention to your subjects eyes and faces, since that’s where you’ll want the eye to fall on the photo. When you have the grid positioned, click the green checkmark to confirm the shape change.
Step 3: Crop the Photo
With the grid in place, get the Crop Tool. In the Options Bar, select an Aspect Ratio of No Restriction and a resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Drag the crop rectangle around the grid on the photo. Confirm the crop by clicking the green confirmation checkmark.
Delete the grid by dragging the Shape Layer up to the Trash Bin in the Layers Palette.
Your cropped photo is a more interesting, compelling image that allows the viewer to focus on the main subject more easily.
Leap Frog To The Next Level!
Tired of learning a bit here and a bit there? Our CD, Learn Digital Scrapbooking, takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!
Find out more and get a free sample video lesson.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Just want to thank you for taking the time to share these lessons and tips with us. I really appreciate it.
You’re so very welcome, Nannette! This idea was new to me, too—and so very practical! I’ve appreciated the new insights by both Sara and Jenny.
Now this was good information…at least for me! Thanks loads!
Thanks! I just love your tips. I knew to use uneven #s but I didn’t know this. It will be a big help.
Terrific. Never thought the thirds could be used for cropping in such a great way.
thanks for pointing out the grid tool in PSE. THe tip is great and will come in very handy.
I knew about the Rule, but didn’t know PSE hid this handy tool in the custom shapes. I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks! I didn’t know this shape was in the Custom Shapes.
Thanks again for the great info!
Thanks so much. I have been using this tool as a frame. Now I know the best way to crop my photos. I have been reading alot about the rule of thirds but had no idea how to apply it with PSE.
I’m like Michele, I knew about the rule but didn’t know about the grid hiding in custom shapes. Usually I just “eyeball” the rule so it’s nice to know I can use the grid to check my work. Thanks!
Any tips on the “triangle”. I don’t know what else to call it but there’s supposed to be “triangles” to make a LO visually pleasing…much like the Rule of Thirds.
Great info, I knew the rule of thirds but using the tool is a great tip
Ditto to the above comments. I have drawn my own grid layer using the pencil tool but this is WAY easier! Thanks for the tip. Isn’t it funny how the easiest solutions to problems are already hidden away in the software. We just need inquisitive people who think outside the box to find them and point them out to us. . . like Linda, Sara and Jenny!
I have been meaning to ask . . .
Is there a way to save and print these weekly tips? I like to keep a hardcopy in my notebook as well as have them on disk. In the past I just printed and saved the PDF or highlighted what I wanted and put it into a Word document. And now it’s not in PDF form. There has to be an easier way . . . probably an icon to click that I am just not seeing!
Karen,
I, too, like a hard copy so I highlight the article using my left mouse button to scroll through the print. Then I go to my toolbar, choose the printer, click “selection” in my printer menu, and then “print”. I also limit the paper going through the printer so that I can print double-sided. By printing one piece of paper (side 1 of 5, for instance), turning the paper over and printing page 2, and so on with page 3/4 and finally, page 5. Good luck.
Never knew there was such a tool. Great info. Love the tips for “elements.”
Thanks!!!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful tool with us. Can’t wait to try it out!
Wow, I have never used that shape. Why didn’t I think of the rule of thirds when I first saw this shape? Great tut, thank you.
Thanks for the info! I could definitely benefit from more tips on photographic composition. Is there a book you might recommend for that type of thing? Also I would guess that the principles for photographic composition would be applicable in lo design ? . ? .
Thanks for all the GREAT information!
Sherry B
Thanks a bunch for that great tip! I am excited to use it
Melissa
What a great tip, I definitely will try this as I always crop by eye and this will make my photos more visually appealing. Thanks again………….
I can not find (Custom Shape Tool ) in photo shop 7 to get the grid.
Please help me find the Create a Grid tool.
You need to find the Custom Shape tool first. In Photoshop Elements 7 it’s the third tool above the Color Chips at the bottom of the Tool Bar. There are 7 Shape tools, so click and hold on the tool to get a flyout menu and choose Custom Shape from the list. In Elements 7 the Custom Shape icon is a heart.
Once you have the Custom Shape tool, you need to find the Grid shape. In the Options Bar, located under the Menu Bar at the top of the desktop, click on the down facing triangle next to the “Shape” Icon to open the Shape Picker menu.
If you have the default set of shapes loaded, you won’t see the Grid. To add all the shapes, click on the right facing triangle at the top of the Shape Picker menu to get a flyout menu. Choose “All Elements Shapes.” Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Shape Picker. The Grid shape will be a few rows up from the bottom. Double click on the Grid shape to select it and close the Shape Picker menu.
Now you’re ready to click and drag a grid on your photo. Remember that the color of the grid will be the color of the Foreground Color Chip, so click on the Color Chip to change the color, if necessary.
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial! I’ve heard about the rule of thirds, but now I understand how to apply it – thank you!
Great tip. I’m fairly new, but had learned to do the rule of thirds with the grid lines showing. I like this method better. Also, I wanted to try out my Avatar!
It’s fun to see who you are!
Thanks so much for this tip! I was so frustrated of trying crop to the rule of thirds by trial and error.