What do you think of the golden section? What is it made of around you?

Klaus Schloff's golden section and photographic composition

Let's talk about this topic by introducing this technology that people have known for hundreds of years. "Golden section" is a geometric formula invented by the ancient Greeks. The composition form that follows this rule is considered to be "harmonious". The significance of this rule lies in providing a reasonable geometric line segment when appreciating an image work. For many painters/artists, "golden section" is the guiding principle that they must deeply understand in their current creation. Photographer.

Principle 1

As shown in Figure A, the formula of "golden section" can be deduced from the square. Divide the bottom of the square into two halves, take the midpoint X, make a circle with the radius of line XY as the center, and the intersection point with the bottom line is Z, thus extending the square into a rectangle with a ratio of 5: 8 (Y' is the "golden section point"), a: c = b: a = 5: Fortunately, the ratio of 35MM film format is very close to this ratio of 5: 8 (24

Figure a

Principle 2

Figure B: Through the above deduction, we get a rectangle that is considered to be perfect. Connect the upper left corner and the lower right corner of the rectangle into a diagonal line, and then make a line segment from the upper right corner to the Y' point (golden section point, see Figure A), and cross the diagonal line, thus dividing the rectangle into three different parts. Now that the golden section has been completed in theory, you can roughly arrange the scene you want to shoot according to these three areas, or flip the schematic diagram 180 degrees or rotate it 90 degrees for comparison.

Figure b,

Figure B- 1

Trinity rule

"Trigonometry" is actually just a simplified version of "Golden Section". Its basic purpose is to avoid symmetrical composition, which usually puts the subject in the center of the picture, which is often annoying. In figures C 1 and C2, we can see that there are four points related to the golden section, marked with a "ten" line. There are two basic ways to avoid symmetry by using the "trisection". The first one is that we can divide the picture into two areas, accounting for 1/3 and 2/3 respectively.

Figure C 1

Figure C 1- 1

The second type: directly refer to the four "golden section" points in the figure. For example, suppose we see a very charming scenery, but we lack a subject with beautiful geometric structure, then the photo taken will only be an empty and tasteless scene. What should we do? Try to find an object that is in sharp contrast with this monotonous environment, and put this object in one of the "ten" points in Figure C2, so that the photo has an obvious anchor point and guides the audience's eyes to the whole landscape.

Figure C2

Figure C2- 1

Natural framework

Sometimes we see a striking subject in the scene, but the messy environment around the subject will often distract the audience and weaken the attraction of the subject, making the final effect of the photo very disappointing. Try to find a natural picture frame that can eliminate the interference of chaotic environment and let the audience focus on the main body, as shown in Figure D, using branches around the main body to form a natural picture frame, so that the rocks in the middle are more prominent.

Figure d

The natural hole shown in Figure E is also an excellent picture frame.

Figure e

Cross spider

Intersection/diagonal is actually another form of "golden section". Its basic idea is to provide a guide line to guide your line of sight, and it is ideal to connect two corners. The traditional method thinks that the top left corner is the best starting point because most people are used to browsing a picture from here. But if this diagonal line is a single straight line, it will often appear dull and boring, so there must always be some embellishment in the picture (as shown in Figure G). In Figure F, a focus with multiple diagonal lines appears, which makes the audience's eyes browse in multiple directions along the guide line, making the picture lively and interesting.

Figure F- Horst Schneider

There are two anchor points in Figure G: the boat and the gazebo. Proper ornament breaks the original symmetry.

Chart G- Horst Schneider

Recommended (0) People Toolbox

Collected in my circle, collected in my sharing pile, transferred to the circle, collected in online bookmarks.