Gridlines feature is the basic feature of any camera, be it mobile, digital or manual. All photographers start their photography with this basic step of their composition. In photography, there are a set of rules defined by famous photographers, and based on their theory, users learn how to capture good pictures.
Each photographer wants the photo captured by him/her should be complimented. To bring in the photographic touch in any pictures, some of the rules are to be followed. In any photographic composition, light is an important factor to be considered. One of the rules that are practised is grid lines. It is called the Rule of Thirds in photography.
Rule of Thirds or Grid Lines Explained
Rule of Thirds refers to a guideline that divides a photo screen into 9 slices. 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines intersecting in such a way to make 9 boxes, called thirds. Using this rule, one can use the negative space creatively while capturing the photo.
In the photographic composition, the main subject covering area is called positive space, and the area around the subject is called negative space. In the picture below, Sky is the negative space and the flower tree is the main subject, positive space.
To capture eye-catching photos, differentiating negative space and positive space is the key. Negative space gives the image or your frame to highlight the main subject. It adds value to the main subject. It is important to keep both spaces balanced to give it a shot. Composing the photo with grid lines is one of the steps of capturing good pictures.
Turn on the grid from your camera settings. Decide the main subject of the photo you want to capture. Try to get the main subject near the lines and intersection points. The below picture is captured using the same concept as explained above.
The woman’s face is not the main subject. It shows the engagement ring in her fingers is the main subject and was focused on the grid lines and intersection points.
Another example is shown below. In this picture, the main subject is the butterfly hanging onto the leaf. The twig is the negative space and not much highlighted. The twig and the empty space on the left to the butterfly provide balance in the photo.
Let us see another composition where grid lines are used and how it turned out to be a “not cluttered” or “not overcrowded” picture. Also, you need to make sure that the picture should not be seen as it is divided in two parts. Positioning the subject with negative space is a balancing act that needs to be shown in the photographic composition.
In the above picture, a car is the main subject covering the road as a negative space. The car is positioned at the nearest gridlines and intersection points. On the backside, trees and the house are also covered making the composition balanced.
Mobile Cameras
Mobile photography is one of the most used features by smartphone users. After smartphones have started manufacturing the devices with 12MP or greater cameras in mobile devices, the smartphone users have gone to the technicality of capturing good pictures. The mobile cameras also offer almost all the features provided by digital cameras. The camera settings differ from model to model and are based on the android or iOS device. Some of the settings are common in all cameras across platforms. Grill line setting is one of the common settings.
Let us see how to set up grid lines from camera settings in Android and iOS smartphones. In different devices, the gridlines option is named or labeled differently. We will see iPhone, Samsung Galaxy M30, and Moto G6 Plus camera settings for grid lines.
Set up grid lines in iPhone – Step-by-step Guide
- From the Home screen, tap the Settings app.
- Tap the Camera option from the list of settings that are shown. NOTE: In some iPhone devices, the settings option in Photos and Camera.
- Switch on the Grid option as shown. By default, the switch is in disabled mode (grayed out).
- Now, go to the Home screen again. Tap the Camera app. The camera opens up with grid lines as shown below.
Turn on the gridlines option in Samsung Galaxy M30 – Step-by-step Guide
- Tap the Settings icon from the home screen. A list of settings will be shown.
- Tap the Apps option from the Settings screen. You will see the list of apps available in your smartphone.
- Tap the Camera app. The camera settings screen is displayed.
- You will the Gridlines option is disabled. Tap to switch on the Gridlines.
- Go back to the home screen.
- Tap the camera app. The camera opens up with Grid Lines as shown below.
- Capture the photo based on your preferences keeping in mind the guidelines are explained in the above sections.
Enable the gridlines option in Moto G6 Plus – Step-by-step Guide
In this device, you can directly set the grid lines from the Camera app. You do not have to go to the system settings to enable the gridlines.
- Go to the Home screen.
- Tap the camera icon. The camera opens up. Tap the settings icon located at the top right corner.
- You will see the list of camera settings as below.
- You will see the option name as Assistive grid. By default, the switch is disabled.
- Turn the Assistive grid option ON.
- Go back to the camera. You will see the gridlines in the camera screen.
- To turn it off, again go to the settings and disable the Assistive grid switch.
The gridlines feature is often used with other effects options such as lens, photo layout (portrait or landscape), contrast, brightness, and many more. Creative photographers keep trying to break the rules of photography to capture the best pictures and that is true with famous photographers. The starters who want to be pros at photography can start off with some basic rules to get a hang of the photographic composition and then, can go to the next level of photography.
