Are you ready to make the most of your upcoming holidays photo opportunities?

We are entering the festive season, full of family, friends, and fun. It’s also the most furiously photographed time of year. Follow our one piece of advice to get the most out of your photo opportunities.

Thinking in Thirds

When you take a photo, use the ‘rule of thirds’ to create a more captivating image. The concept of thirds in photos is a guideline, not a law. Yet improving your photo composition is an awesome way to take better photos without having to buy any new photo equipment. From Wikipedia:

“The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.”

Can you see what they are talking about? Lets break it down using an example from the Popular page.

Diana Tarré has a wonderful background image. There many positives on the page, like the depth of field in the photo and the great natural lighting. However, what I like about the page is the overall visual balance created by paying attention to the rule of thirds.

The orange grid helps show that Diana is framed on the left vertical third line. Photographing Diana in this way creates a visually appealing image and a perfect about.me background.

Two-for-One

Using the vertical ‘third lines’ to guide your snapshot accomplishes two goals: makes a more interesting photo and helps balance your about.me page.

When you align the subject of your image on a third line, you leave room for adding your biography without covering anything important. This setup avoids the awkward text-over-your-face phenomenon, which is great for you and people viewing your page.

On about.me, your thumbnail image appears in search results, on the Featured and Popular pages, as well as on your Home dashboard. This smaller thumbnail version of your page does not include you biography box, just your background photo.

The best pages on about.me have background images that can stand alone, and also look great with the biography included.

When you are gathered with friends this holiday season, use the rule of thirds to take better photos.  After teaching your friends or family about the rule, remember to ask someone take a photo of you for your about.me page.

If all goes well, you will have great photo ready to update your about.me page in the New Year!