Rule of Thirds, Lines, S-Curves

I figured I'd go over a few of the basic rules of photography. In this post I'll go over the Rule of Thirds, Lines and S-Curves as well as I can.

Rule of Thirds:

That's the rule of thirds. It's pretty simple but can make a big change in your pictures. All you have to do is place the subject you want to be the focus of your picture and place it in any of the circled intersections, or as close as you can get it. Using the rule of thirds can make your pictures much more interesting.
For example:


and


I admit, this doesn't really follow the rule, but the subject(the head of the arm on the record player) still isn't in the middle AND I've used the reflection off the vinyl. I had to use a mirror to light this one properly.

Lines
Lines are pretty self explanatory. You use the lines in the picture to lead the viewers eye to what you want them to see. Lines also help with depth of field, giving the pictures a look that's a bit more than 2D.
Examples:



NOTE: This picture was taken by Ansel Adams, not me. I thought it was an excellent example of the line rule.

S-Curves
S-Curves make pictures seem more elegant and soft and of course, more interesting.


NOTE: This one is also taken by Ansel Adams.


NOTE: Also not taken by me. Credit given to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8689869@N02/549353744/

The curves in this picture make it much more interesting than if it had been shot straight on.


That's it for now.