Photography Tips Golden Section Composition

Photography Techniques: Golden Section Composition

Let’s start this topic with the most basic introduction - the "golden section" is a geometric formula invented by the ancient Greeks. Follow this Regular composition forms are considered "harmonious". The significance of this rule when appreciating an image work is to provide a geometric line segment that is reasonably divided. For many painters and artists, the "golden section" is their current It is a guideline that must be understood deeply in every creation, and photographers are no exception.

Principle 1:

As shown in Figure A: The "golden section" formula can be derived from a square. Divide the base of the square into two equal parts, take the midpoint X, and take X as Draw a circle with the center of the circle and the radius of line segment = B:A = 5:8. Fortunately, the ratio of the 35MM film format is very close to this 5:8 ratio (24:36 =5:7.5)

Principle 2:

As shown in Figure B: Passed From the above derivation, we get a rectangle that is considered perfect. A diagonal line is drawn to connect the upper left corner and lower right corner of the rectangle, and then a line segment is drawn from the upper right corner to the Y' point (the golden section point, see Figure A) to intersect the diagonal line. , thus dividing the rectangle into three different parts. Now that the golden section has been completed in theory, the next step is to roughly arrange the scenery you want to photograph according to these three areas. You can also flip the diagram 180 degrees or rotate 90 degrees for comparison.

Rule of Thirds

The "Rule of Thirds" is actually just a simplified version of the "Golden Section". Its basic purpose is to avoid symmetrical compositions, which usually make the subject The object is placed in the center of the picture, which is often annoying. In Figures C1 and C2, you can see that there are four points related to the "golden section", marked with a "cross" line. There are two basic ways to use the "rule of thirds" to avoid symmetry:

First: we can divide the picture into two areas occupying 1/3 and 2/3 of the area respectively.

The second type: directly refer to the four "golden section" points shown in the diagram. For example, imagine that we see a very fascinating scenery, but without a subject with a beautiful geometric structure, the resulting photo will only be an empty scene. So what should we do? Try to find a photo that is similar to this The monotonous environment forms a sharp contrasting object, and the subject is placed at one of the "cross" points in Figure C2, so that the photo has an obvious anchor point and draws the audience's gaze from there. Set off to guide the entire landscape.

Natural picture frame

Sometimes there is a striking subject in the scene we see, but often the cluttered environment around the subject distracts the audience’s attention. This reduces the attractiveness of the subject and makes the final photo disappointing. Try to find a natural picture frame that can eliminate interference from the cluttered environment and focus the audience's attention on the subject. In Figure D, use the branches around the subject to form a natural picture frame to make the mountain rocks in the middle more prominent.

The natural rock cave entrance is also an excellent picture frame

Intersecting lines

Intersecting lines and diagonals are actually another part of the "golden section" The basic idea of ??form is to provide a guide line to guide your sight, ideally the line between two corners.

In Figure F, a focal point with multiple diagonal lines appears, allowing the viewer’s eyes to browse along the guide lines in multiple directions, making the picture lively and interesting.

There are two anchor points in Figure G: the boat and the pavilion. The just-right embellishment breaks the original symmetry.

The traditional method is that the upper left corner is the best starting point, because most people are used to browsing a picture from here (Translator's Note: Many people have different opinions on this point of view). However, if this diagonal line is a single straight line, it will often be very plain and boring, so there must always be some kind of embellishment in the picture (Figure G).

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