Photography Composition - Understanding the Golden Ratio

Improving your photographic composition skills can be a long and arduous task, yet there is one technique, developed thousands of years ago that can be put into effect in a matter of minutes, that can give you a dramatic improvement in the artistic value of your work almost instantly.

What is the Golden Ratio?

The ancient Greeks were clever people who were extremely adept at seeing the relationships between different things. For instance, they are the ones who discovered the relationship between different sides of a triangle and thus developed the Pythagorean Theorem. They also found the relationship between a circle's radius and its circumference pi: π. In the arts they noticed a similar relationship between great works of art and a particular mathematical formula (the longer part divided by the smaller part is equal to the whole length divided by the larger part) This formula actually derives at number, or more accurately, an approximation: 1.61803... the mathematical constant phi:φ. It is interesting to note that this constant is seen all through the world of science and mathematics as well as in the art world.

Over the thousands of years since the Greeks developed this theory, there has been a great deal of evidence to support it. What does this mean to you as a photographer? It means that there are certain areas within the frame where your subject is likely to draw the most attention. Photographers commonly call this the "Rule of Thirds" but it has its roots in ancient Greek mathematics.

How do I use the Golden Ratio?

Take a blank piece of paper and imagine it is one of your photographs. Draw two vertical lines dividing the page into three equal parts. The draw two more lines horizontally dividing the page into that direction. When you take pictures, the objects that fall along these lines tend to be the most interesting. Objects that are placed along the intersection of two lines tend to be even more interesting. Therefore, if you want to draw attention to an object in your frame, you would be wise to try to place interesting features in your images along these lines and intersections.

You can confirm this for yourself but looking at some of your favorite images. Do you see how the best images nearly always take advantage of this strategy? Research has shown that a vast majority of the world's great works of art employ this tool. However, that doesn't mean you should become a slave to this system and never place important items elsewhere. There are times to avoid these lines, but that will take time and experience to master.

Why does the golden ratio work so well for photographers?

One of the important things about using the golden ratio, or rule of thirds, is that it forces you to move things out of the center of the frame. Every beginner places things in the middle of the frame, it is our natural tendency. Also, in most cases, an item in the middle creates no dynamic tension or visual movement. Moving, say a person, to one of the thirds means you have to find ways to relate them to other things in their surroundings, thereby creating interest.

So, before you buy another piece of expensive equipment, try mastering this simple and very effective technique. You will be surprised at how simple it is to do and how effective it is in improving your images. It won't get you into the Louvre, but it will get you on your way to some stunning images.