The rule of thirds is a rule of thumb for composing visual art such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs. 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. The theory is that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject.