The Golden Ratio, How To Use It In Photography

If you are a novice in photography or not into how mathematics describes the world around you, there is a good possibility you may not have heard of the “Golden Ratio”. It also has been known as the “golden mean” or the “divine proportion”. It is a calculation, like Pi and the Pythagorean Theorem, which has been around for a very long time.

It wasn’t, however, until the Renaissance Period that architects, artists and even designers took to using the infamous “divine proportion”. They did so to make their work more aesthetically pleasing. By using some mathematical principles they determined where to place key elements in their work to greater advantage. Today, artists in all areas are still using the ratio of the golden rectangle. Simply put, the principal is a structure of thirds similar to the well known “rule of thirds”. Also used is a Fibonacci spiral where a nautilus shell shape is applied to how elements are composed. The use of foreground, middle-ground and background are integral as well.

These elements should be, for the most part, self-explanatory. Applying them properly will greatly enhance your efforts. Learning how to position, isolate or enhance the objects that you are about to photograph is the basis that you will need to use this principle. What this principle will do for your photography is prevent you from taking photographs that are flat and one-dimensional. Instead, it will make photos look more dynamic and give them a sense of dimensionality.

Many people simply grab their camera and tend to just point and shoot. While cameras these days do have multiple focus sensors the default, also the most commonly used, is the center focal point. The result of which is photos with the subject in the middle taking up all or most of the image with no sense of the environment. There are cameras that are designed to make the most of the Golden Ratio by superimposing a grid that is broken down into thirds. These types of cameras take all of the guesswork out of the rule of thirds and make taking professional pictures easier for everyone. Of course, with a little forethought and care there is always the option of post process cropping. Just remember, as with most everything in art, while you can always use the golden ratio for all your pictures and every subject but they are guidelines not steadfast rules.

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