The rule of thirds is a general compositional rule in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.

The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections; proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

However, this rule does not have to be accurately followed. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. The subject may does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.