The Rule of Odds

A less well-known rule is the Rule of Odds. There is something strangely pleasing about odd numbers and this rule takes advantage of that. The idea is that you stick to an odd number (from three upwards) of elements in a photo, rather than an even number. By doing this there will always be one element in the shot framed by its neighbours. (This can never happen with an even number of elements.) Where the rule is less relevant is when there is a large number of elements in a scene. If the eye cannot quickly see that there is an odd number (or even for that matter) of elements then the rule can safely be ignored.