There is a wealth of information on the internet about composition—endless blog posts about visual rules, geometric concepts, and photos with all kinds of lines and shapes drawn over them to the prove the point. But all of this information focuses on the "what" of composition rather than the "why." A photographer must stop and ask themselves: "why even bother following visual rules?"
You have no doubt heard of the Golden Ratio, which is somehow or other connected to the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci Spiral, which is oft-touted as the basis of all great compositions. It is less likely that you have heard of the Diamond Ratio.
Artists have long used the golden ratio as a guide for creating aesthetically pleasing art, as it's believed that the human brain is hardwired to find the proportions inherently beautiful. Take a look at the work of legendary photographer Ansel Adams, and you may find the golden ratio tracing out many of their notable features.
A long time ago I was a young art student, being told about the “Rule Of Thirds.” I was told it’s one of the most important fundamentals of art and photography, as it helps you get the right composition in your images.
The golden ratio (or golden mean, or golden section, or divine proportion, or whatever you want to call it) is the subject of heated debate among photographers. But if you love using the golden ratio when you shoot, you should definitely check out this creative little pocket-sized card.
Photographer Joel Goodman was photographing revelers in Manchester on New Year's Eve when he came across a strange scene: police were wrestling a man on the ground while another man was reclining on the street and reaching for his beer.
Goodman's resulting photo has gone wildly viral online, and many are referring to it as a "perfect composition" and a photo that's reminiscent of a Renaissance masterpiece painting.
xkcd's latest comic, titled "Flowcharts," is a tongue-in-cheek take on the concept of the golden ratio (or golden spiral) in photography. It's a flow chart in which one of the steps reads: "Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?" If you choose "yes" from there, you're taken on a golden ratio journey that magically fits the design of the chart.
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The golden ratio is used by nature, photographers, and now... Twitter! Did you notice it in the new Twitter design?