This photo and the one on this page also share a common thread. Yes, they are both “people shots,” one a posed portrait and the other a candid. But what I really want you to notice is that both rely on the Rule of Thirds despite the absence of any defined horizon lines. It is challenging to arrange a compelling composition in the absence of a defined “line” to get you started, which is, at least initially, all the more reason to either activate the grid that came with your DSLR or make your own from a piece of plastic and a Sharpie, cutting it to the same size as your digital monitor and taping it on top of it.

Here, it’s true that my subject is posing right in the middle of the frame, but she is also supported by a background of lines that converge at her neckline. These converging lines act as two arrows, leading the eye to the subject and emphasizing her importance as the key element in this composition. The inclusion of the sidewalk (a lower-third horizon) and the store’s awning (an upper-third horizon) serve to hold the viewer’s attention—to keep the viewer from leaving the subject. It was pure luck that my subject was wearing a pink top and the building behind her had pink trim.

Nikon D3X with 24–85mm lens at 35mm, f/6.3 for 1/200 sec., ISO 100