146379 Photography from scratch 0
In this lesson you will learn: Basics of composition. Semantic and decorative layout of the frame. Compositional techniques: perspective, rule of thirds, golden ratio, diagonals. Main and secondary objects of the composition. The main mistakes of beginning photographers.
What is composition? Composition (from Latin compositio) means composition, connection, combination of various parts into a single whole in accordance with some idea. This refers to the thoughtful construction of an image, finding the relationship of its individual parts (components), which ultimately form a single whole - a complete and complete image.
Why is proper composition important? In order to better convey an idea in photography, special expressive means are used: lighting, tonality, color, point and moment of shooting, plan, angle, as well as pictorial and various contrasts. Reflection of living, real life will not be adequate without following certain rules. How, for example, to convey movement or the fleetingness of a moment? This requires knowledge of the laws of composition, otherwise your photos will turn into random shutter clicks and will not be interesting to others.
The general meaning of a correctly constructed frame composition is that we look at the photograph easily and naturally. At the same time, we receive aesthetic pleasure, see the logical connection between objects in the frame, and admire the details of the image. It happens the other way around, we are surprised or shocked, everything is incomprehensible to us, but even in this case, the correct - or deliberately incorrect - composition conveys the author’s creative intent through the photograph.
Plot center and balance
Any good photograph should have a main subject, sometimes called semantic or plot center. This is what the author climbed mountains for, crossed deserts, or simply took time away from having fun with friends to take out the camera and press the button. This center can be “I’m at the barbecue,” or it can be a snow-capped peak, a lonely tree, a human face, or just a graceful curve of lines in an abstract still life.
In simple home photographs, the subject and geometric center often coincide, that is, the main subject is directly in the center of the photo. Family albums are filled with such cards, and only the closest relatives are interested in leafing through them, much less looking at photographs. If a photographer strives to take something more than a “me against the backdrop of the pyramids” shot, then one must be prepared for the fact that more time and effort will have to be spent.
Before you press the camera shutter button, decide semantic center and find it in the surrounding space, mentally highlight what is most important and most interesting for you. Perhaps at first it will not be easy and you will have to work with your head (well, turn in different directions, look around), but then, as you gain experience, your eye will find interesting subjects on its own.
Let's move on. There is a very old and simple rule that allows you to almost always achieve success. Sometimes it is called rule of thirds. It allows you to harmoniously balance the image, giving it dynamics and visual naturalness. What is its meaning? The frame space is mentally divided into equal parts by two horizontal and two vertical lines. Three horizontal and three vertical stripes make up a kind of grid with points of intersection of lines.
It is recommended to place the most important elements of the frame along these lines or at their intersection points. The fact is that such an asymmetry of the image is perceived more naturally and in many cases makes it possible to effectively use the negative space around the main subject.
The rule of thirds is widely used in many different types of images. For example, in landscapes, the horizon line is often placed along the upper or lower third line, and next to one of the vertical lines is an object to which they want to draw attention (a tree, a building, etc.).
When creating portraits, the face can be moved away from the center to avoid unnecessary resemblance to a “passport photo.” To draw attention to the eyes, it is worth choosing a composition so that one eye is located at one of the upper intersections of the conventional lines.
For many centuries, to build harmonious compositions, artists have also used the concept "Golden section". A concept close to the rule of thirds. It has been discovered that certain points in a painting composition automatically attract the viewer's attention. There are only four such points, and they are located at a distance of 3/8 and 5/8 from the corresponding edges of the plane. Having drawn the grid, we received these points at the intersections of the lines.
$IMAGE8-left $A person always focuses his attention on these points, regardless of the format of the frame or picture.
There are also minor lines that should “lead” the eye to the plot center. Secondary lines can be understood not only as specific lines, but also as a series of objects or parts located one after another. This is it diagonal rule. According to the diagonal rule, important elements of the image should be set along diagonal lines. A diagonal composition with a direction from the lower left to the upper right is calmer than one built on the opposite, more dynamic diagonal.
Linear elements such as roads, waterways, shorelines, and fences that are installed diagonally tend to make the landscape more dynamic than those that are positioned horizontally.
Balance in the photo - what is it for?]
The composition can be balanced or unbalanced. What does it mean? Imagine that you are carrying a heavy bag in one hand. Your body will be an unbalanced composition. By holding an equally heavy bag in your other hand, you will make your body composition balanced. The fact is that any unbalanced composition looks random, but a balanced composition is harmonious, and it seems that no change is possible. In balance, everything is important, even the direction of movement of objects or their visual weight.
The easiest way to balance your composition is to center your subject in the image. However, as we just discussed above, this is not the best solution. If you move an object to the side, the balance is disrupted. One part of the photo becomes heavier and visually outweighs the other. The frame seems to want to rotate clockwise.
To correct an unbalanced composition, you need to introduce an object into the empty part of the photo. It should be taken into account that in photography weight is replaced by volume (DOF), color or associations with heavy or light objects. The colors in which objects are painted also have different effects on their pictorial “weight”: red and its shades are heavier than blue, bright colors are heavier than dark ones.
You can also balance, from a compositional point of view, the model's figure through a variety of movements. If, for example, a model makes a hand gesture in one direction, then compositionally it can be balanced by a foot gesture or a head turn in the other direction. That is, a gesture in one direction of any part of the body is balanced by a gesture in the other direction of the arm, leg, head, or bending of the body.
You can use one of the most amazing composition techniques - developing movement that balances the photo. This psychological effect suggests the presence free space in the direction of movement or gaze. All you have to do is leave free space in the frame where the movement is developing, and the composition immediately levels out.
In addition, the developing movement can be replaced by the direction of gaze. However, views are also different, and they require different free space in the picture. A calm, good-natured or half-asleep look requires a little free space. But furious, fatal, enticing - much more. A gaze directed at oneself requires no space at all.
We should not forget about the psychology of the viewer: for example, human faces with pronounced emotional states, like a magnet, attract our attention.
ADVICE. Moving from left to right seems faster to us than from right to left, and an object placed on the right side weighs more than one placed on the left. An object located at the top of the frame “weighs” more than the exact same object at the bottom of the frame. A single small element at the edge of the frame, located outside the main lines, compositionally “weighs” more than a large object that is in the center or located on an axis passing through the center of the composition. We can say that the “leverage” rule applies: the further from the center of balance, the greater the “weight” of the element in the composition.
An important element is the background . Our gaze is selective, and often an inexperienced photographer sees only his main subject, but does not notice many distracting details in the background or near the center of the plot. Clear the frame of unnecessary details! Look around and choose a suitable background. Perhaps these random people passing by will now move off the edge of the frame. Tree branches that “grow” from behind people’s heads and interfere with the perception of an object can be removed by slightly moving to the side, etc.
In fact, choosing a background is one of the main tasks of a photographer, and if you didn’t have any problems choosing an object at first, then the background can be anything. Look around, perhaps those bushes in the back are not as good as you think, the bright flowers are very beautiful, but distract attention, and the carpet above the sofa where the guests are sitting is too colorful (by the way, a traditional mistake of amateur photographers, like the trash can in the back plan).
The camera, unlike the eye, impartially records everything, and as a result, instead of an event or fact that is important to you, the picture may turn out to be a kind of vinaigrette of secondary, insignificant and, most importantly, distracting details. Background objects should not distract the eye from the main thing, and if your main object is dark, then it is advisable to choose a lighter background, and vice versa: a light object stands out well against a dark background. At the same time, we must not forget about exposure corrections.
Perspective. A photograph in which you can feel the depth of space immediately attracts attention. Such pictures look better and are more interesting to look at. The alternation of plans - foreground, middle and distant - gives the photograph a natural look.
For tourist photographs, try to choose objects that are not too colorful or bright as a background; pay attention to how the background is lit. If your subject is in the shade, the background should not be brightly sunlit walls of buildings or architectural monuments. It is better if the background is slightly darker than the main subject.
Try to mentally distribute the plans of your composition; note that in addition to the foreground, the lens will see objects located behind your subject center and even further on the horizon. Pay attention to all intersecting lines and background objects. Very often, deliberate manipulation of the background is used by photographers as a separate expressive technique.
Rhythm. Another important means of expression is rhythm, that is, the image of the same type of details, figures or silhouettes in the photograph. Our whole life is an alternation of days and nights, seasons, so rhythm helps to understand the non-randomness of choice, and the gradual decrease in identical or similar figures - from large ones in the foreground to small ones in the background - again emphasizes perspective. A large number of objects: houses, silhouettes, trees, with similar or even identical shapes can form an imaginary line, which will also lead the eye to the plot center and give it greater meaning.
Composition mistakes of beginning photographers
Everyone gains invaluable experience by overcoming difficulties and failures. Everyone makes mistakes. This is what teaches you not to step on the same rake in the future. But, naturally, no one wants to get into trouble, so the best thing to do is to learn from the mistakes of others and use the experience of professionals.
Let's consider typical compositional errors, which were admitted by everyone who has ever held a camera in their hands. These mistakes occur both among beginning photographers and among those who have some knowledge and experience.
Cropped parts of people or landmarks. To frame a photo correctly, you just need to get used to your camera and carefully ensure that the entire subject is included in the frame.
Violation of the proportions of the human body. The wrong angle can distort the natural proportions of the body. When photographed from above, the person will appear to have a large head and short legs. When shooting from below, everything will be the other way around. If getting such a shot is not your goal, watch the angle and proportions.
Collapse of the horizon. Many people make the mistake of holding the camera slightly tilted while shooting. The horizon line in the pictures should be parallel to the bottom and top edges of the picture. Many cameras can display a grid on the screen to help you line up the frame.
There is a foreign object in the frame. This error often occurs because the frame is not lined up. Before taking photographs, you need to think about what exactly should be in the picture and evaluate the surrounding space.
Unbalanced composition. An inexperienced photographer is not aware of the existence of the rules of the golden ratio, thirds, leading lines, etc., and why they need to be known, especially. Positioning in the center of the frame is perhaps the most famous and most common mistake. There is nothing wrong with placing the object in the center, but such a frame is simply boring, it has no dynamics, plot, or movement. Of course, sometimes such a composition is justified.
Unnoticed details in the background. The portrait, in which the boom of a tower crane sticks out of the model’s ear, and a flag flutters on the top of her head, has every right to exist, moreover, they are original. But in many cases this is not the originality that you expect from the photo. Sometimes after shooting you wonder how you didn’t notice in the viewfinder that this pillar (garbage can, apple core, bottle, cigarette butt...) really spoils the shot. But it’s too late, and not everything can be corrected with the help of an editor.
Empty composition. There is too much empty space in the frame that does not carry any meaning. useful information. The viewer's gaze darts around in this emptiness, not knowing where to stop. This shot is reminiscent of the famous picture of the best Carlson in the world - “A Very Lonely Red Rooster.”
Overloaded composition. There are a lot of objects in the frame - photo trash; it is not clear why they are needed, but the variety is sometimes impressive. The subject itself is lost against their background, and it is almost impossible to keep attention on it.
There are still many mistakes that photographers make, but to start learning the correct photography technique, you need to remember the basic rules and always pay attention to the little things.
Lesson results: composition helps the photographer to correctly arrange the frame, in accordance with the plan, convey his idea to the viewer through visual images and tell something about the world around him in photographic language. We got acquainted with the basic rules of framing and typical mistakes novice photographers.
Practical task.
1. Almost all cameras have a grid in the viewfinder (on the screen) that shows the lines of the rule of thirds, and allows you to preliminary assess the correctness of the composition, but most often it is mistakenly turned off by beginners. Turn on grid display. Please refer to your camera's manual.
2. Look through your photos taken, for example, on your last vacation. Evaluate the correctness of their composition and find errors. Reframe these images in the editor, if space allows, to improve the composition.
In this lesson from our school we will continue to study composition. Today we will look at the basic rules for placing objects in the frame, which you probably know. But it’s always worth repeating! After all, these rules are the basis of any composition, and for more experienced photographers they serve as an excellent starting point, base or skeleton of the future compositional solution of the frame, from which we begin more daring experiments.
Rule of thirds.
In the title photo, the bowl of peaches is located exactly along the third line of the frame.
With enough practice, you will quickly learn to mentally separate an image and place the main elements along lines and intersections. In another case, you can turn on the settings on the camera or when cropping in Lightroom or Photoshop so that the lines of thirds are visible.
Golden ratio rule.
Scheme. Frame division according to the golden ratio. |
The rule of thirds, in turn, is a simplification of another rule that has long been used by many artists. This is the rule of the Golden Ratio. Since ancient times, it was believed that objects containing the golden ratio are perceived by humans as the most harmonious. According to this rule, objects must also be located at certain points in the image, the so-called visual centers. It is believed, although modern research does not confirm this hypothesis without reservations, that when looking at paintings or photographs, we automatically look first at these visual centers. Therefore, using the golden ratio rule, we help the viewer, making the image more pleasant and ready for perception. |
The main visual difference between the Golden Ratio and the Rule of Thirds is that the visual centers are located closer to the center of the frame.
A bottle of milk and a glass of strawberries are located along the lines of the golden ratio.
The rule of the diagonal golden ratio.
The resulting division can be seen in the diagram.
Unlike the classical rule of the golden ratio, in this case, to create a harmonious and balanced composition, objects must be placed not at the points of intersection, but in the cells that have formed.
Despite the fact that without having the habit: it is quite difficult to immediately navigate this rule, it really helps create a harmoniously filled frame with a large number of objects.
Objects in the frame are arranged according to the rule of the diagonal golden ratio.
Central composition.
How many times have they told the world and all novice photographers that under no circumstances should the subject be placed in the center of the picture. This is really good advice and a lifesaver for any beginning photographer. But we love to break the rules, right? ;)
So let's do it meaningfully, with intention. So why place the object in the center?
The use of a central composition can be justified if, according to your plan, you need to convey the static, unshakable and monumental nature of the object. In combination with the “Horizontal - from table level” angle, the object will look very important! 
A vase of olives is located in the center of the photo. The angle is low, from the level of the subject.
It is also possible to use a central composition if you want to draw attention to something inside the main subject, or together with the “Frame within a Frame” technique (we will discuss this technique separately).
And of course, the rules for placing an object in a frame can be used together. When an object located in the center may have any significant parts in the visual centers according to thirds or the golden ratio.
In the strawberry yogurt example (above), the yogurt mixture is in the center of the image, but the sliced berries are on the right third line, the mint leaf is on the golden ratio line, and the strawberries in the background are on the left third line. Thus, the emphasis from the rather inexpressive yogurt mass shifts towards strawberries, and it is this component that is emphasized. Color also helps with this.
A final note.
Well, before giving the task, I would like to say that these rules should in no case be taken as axioms! In no case should you stand over the frame with a ruler, measure thirds and calculate golden ratio points :) I perceive them as useful, time-tested templates that help you quickly and easily create a balanced, pleasing to the eye photograph.
Homework:
Select your subject and work out the third, golden ratio, and central positions. Pay attention to how the pictures will be perceived differently. Choose the frame you like best and post it as a first-level comment on this lesson.
Those who want to do a task of increased complexity - I’m waiting for a photo from you using the diagonal golden ratio;)
So, in front of us is the camera viewfinder and a rectangular plane of the frame in which we can position the person being portrayed.
Where should it be placed? In the center?
Or maybe there are some special areas in the frame where the model should be placed?
Maybe there are so-called “nodes of attention” that involuntarily attract the eye?
Let's figure it out.
All beginning photographers tend to place the main subject of attention (the person) in the very center of the photo. And in most cases this is more bad than good.
Where then should the person be placed in the picture, if not in the center?
There is an interesting mathematical rule called the “golden ratio” and its simplified version is the rule of thirds.
The “golden ratio” is the division of a continuous quantity into two parts in such a ratio that the smaller part is related to the larger one as the larger part is to the entire value. 
It is also called “ideal proportion”, “divine proportion”, etc.
It was discovered in ancient times and is now used wherever it can be used – right down to forecasting prices in foreign exchange markets.
Photography also uses a simplified version of it called the “rule of thirds.”
Its essence is that we divide the frame area with lines parallel to its edges into three equal parts and thereby create a third grid.
This rule is ingrained in modern photography training, and there is an opinion that it came to us from the “bearded” artists of yesteryear.
Let's check it out. 
“Mona Lisa” – Leonardo da Vinci “Portrait of Father Tanguy” – Vincent van Gogh
“Unknown” – Ivan Kramskoy
And what do we see?
As if by luck, all the plot-important elements of the picture pass by the third grid lines and its nodes.
Or maybe these same “bearded” artists didn’t even know anything about the rule of thirds, which they are so ardently trying to impose on all novice amateur photographers?
I will not say anything against the use of this rule in portrait photography, as in some cases it can actually make your job easier and make the image more “strong” in terms of composition. I will only recommend using it more intelligently.
In many cases, it will be much more successful to only slightly shift the model from the easiest point for perception - from the center of the frame.
This shift already forces the viewer to “cling” to the main object in your photo and keep their attention on the photo longer. You can position the horizon using the third grid, but as for the model itself, always look at the situation, the presence of additional objects, the pose you have chosen, etc.
Pay special attention to your balance!
If you place a model in a portrait using the rule of thirds, then try to avoid such a misunderstanding: 
Balance the shot either with additional objects or by looking towards empty space.
Let's look at a few examples: 
The position of the subject in this photo is close to the rule of thirds, the tilt of the head and gaze create the correct balance.
This photo doesn’t even smell of the rule of thirds, but it doesn’t lose any of its expressiveness and dynamics.
And here the rule of thirds is partially at work, because the shot is balanced by the position of the model, the lift of the shoulder and the direction of the gaze.
It was appropriate to build this picture according to the rule of thirds, try to analyze it yourself - why?
For lying down portraits, you can move the bottom vertical line of the lying person down just slightly and the photo will look stronger.
When should you place a person in the center of the photo?
The simplest example is symmetrical photography. Only if you decide to take such a photo, then choose a person with the most symmetrical facial features, this will allow you to achieve the desired effect.
Another time you can place a person in the center of the frame is using manipulation tricks
the viewer's attention using lines.
What is it?
These are simply converging lines that come out from the front corners of the frame and go into the depth of the picture (road, bridge, rails, houses). There may be a person in the center of these lines.
It is also possible to position the model in the center in cases where we are dealing with a neutral background and the person’s gaze is directed towards the camera. 
Grass, sky, or water surface can also serve as a neutral background.
What kind of trick?
It refers to the combination of “portrait scale – close-up”.
Here's its meaning: depending on the size of a person in relation to the rest of the frame, you can create a feeling of large space, which in turn will reinforce the idea of emptiness and loneliness. And vice versa - you can create a feeling of limited space, crampedness and bustle.
Take note of this pattern - it will be very useful to you when you want to make a portrait with a certain meaning or plot.
Here are a couple of illustrative examples:
Notice the person standing in the background. How does it make you feel? Also note that this photo was taken in violation of the "don't put people in the corners of the frame" rule. It was violated here deliberately, why? The person is not positioned in the very corner; quite a lot of space is left in front of his face (in relation to himself). In addition, this person, by his position, creates balance according to the “swing” principle. The essence of the principle is that we can place a large object in the foreground (close to the viewer), and a small object far from the viewer and in the opposite corner of the frame. This will create balance, as if the child sat on the far edge of the swing and the adult sat close to the center. 
This shot is quite dynamic and conveys action, play, and tension. Objects occupy almost the entire space of the frame, and this helps to convey the desired atmosphere of bustle. If there was too much space left around the edges of the frame, the effect of the photo would be weakened.
You can learn even more about how to correctly position models in the framefrom my newsletter: http://manhattan-photo.ru/
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In this article I would like to analyze some fairly common judgments regarding the so-called “central composition”, about symmetry in the frame, about the golden ratio and about the rule of thirds.
1. The myth of the central composition
Perhaps the most common misconception in the field of composition is the following. It is argued that the main object in the frame should not be in the center and that it is desirable to offset important objects relative to the center of the frame. However, this is obviously a false statement. Frankly, it’s surprising that it’s still being repeated.
Pieter Jansz Pourbus (1524-1584), The Last Supper
Let's first remember the world famous photographers who actively used and are using the so-called central composition. Many old school portrait photographers, including William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Dorothea Lange, don't count. Irwing Penn used the central composition almost exclusively. Of course, there were other options, but the central one was very common. Below I specifically give quite a lot of examples to demonstrate their diversity.
Richard Avedon
Harry Callahan
Alberto Garcia-Alix
Ruth Orkin
Ansel Adams
André Kertész
Rodney Smith
Many people believe that vertical and square frames gravitate toward the central composition, but this, as can be seen from the selection, is not the case. The central composition of the classics can also be found in horizontal frames.
So, we see that there are a huge number of classics of photography who used the central composition very actively. In addition, studies using the eyetracking method show that of all the possible “special points” in the frame plane, the only a priori strong “point” is the center of the frame, or, to be more precise, the vertical in the center. You can see the pictures for yourself using the link. In other words, various points may or may not be attractive to the eye depending on what is in them, and the center attracts attention even when there is nothing particularly interesting there. Therefore, central compositions are obviously effective, and the fact that they should not be used is nothing more than a myth.
2. The myth of symmetry
I don’t know where the idea came from that having symmetry in a frame is bad. For me personally, this is surprising, since the presence of symmetry in an image is not a composition defect, but an artistic device. Symmetry can be observed both with and without central compositions. In addition, a generally symmetrical frame and local symmetry can be observed when only its individual parts are symmetrical. Symmetry can be observed with respect to the horizontal and vertical axes, as well as with respect to diagonals, and in general with respect to anything.
It must be understood that complete symmetry in the mathematical sense is almost never observed in photography. We are usually talking about approximate or even very approximate symmetry. There is a very plausible hypothesis that when looking at symmetrical photographs, the viewer compares parts of the image, playing the well-known game “find 10 differences”. If this is so, then the memorization and understanding of symmetrical images is determined precisely by the presence of approximate symmetry, and this is precisely what the compositional technique consists of. In addition, it is obvious that symmetrical objects are easier to remember due to the smaller amount of information that is required for memorization.
Below I will give several examples of symmetrical compositions from classic photography. Some of the central compositions above are also symmetrical in a photographic sense.
Philippe Halsman
Philippe Halsman
Alfred Stieglitz
Here symmetry is the result of image manipulation.
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith
Lisa Sarfati
Christopher Anderson
3. The myth of thirds and the golden ratio
The so-called “rule of thirds” and “rule of the golden ratio” are the largest, most widespread and most persistent of all misconceptions in the field of composition in photography that I have ever encountered. By putting forward reasonable arguments, it is usually quite easy to convince people that some of their knowledge is not entirely correct or not correct at all. But with these two rules, which are often combined into one, everything is completely different. More often than not, no reasonable arguments work, so I have long ago sworn off arguing about this and treat my addiction to these two rules as something religious. Either people believe in God or they don’t - it’s almost impossible to convince anyone of anything. Nevertheless, I have my own opinion on this issue.
One of the main problems is that these rules actually have no wording. That is, every normal person knows or is able to understand what 1/3 is and what the golden ratio (or golden ratio) is, but what to do with this knowledge next, everyone understands in their own way. A rule is usually a fairly clear instruction “to achieve something, you need to do such and such” or a clear pattern “if you do such and such, you will get such and such” . For example, “to make your neighbors’ sleep unbearable, you need to play loud music that they don’t like while they sleep” (instruction) or “if you eat a spoonful of sodium cyanide, it will have a bad effect on your health” (pattern) . There are no such formulations regarding the golden ratio and thirds. The most intelligible thing you can hear or read sounds something like this: the “golden ratio” is associated with harmony. And we can quite agree with this formulation. Yes, it is somehow connected, but what follows from this? What exactly needs to be done to achieve harmony? Let's say we know exactly what to do with the golden ratio, but we do something different. Does this other thing automatically mean that we cannot achieve harmony? What is harmony and is it always needed for each specific photograph?
Formulations for the practical achievement of this notorious harmony using the golden section method often contradict each other partially or completely and vary in their ultimatum. For example, you may come across this: “It is very convenient to use the golden ratio rule to place the horizon (on the top or bottom line).” I feel unbearably sad at the thought that I come to a photo gallery and see photographs hung in which the horizon is located exactly on one of two lines. If the proportions of the frame are also observed according to this rule, then the result is a harmony that is frightening in its unbearability. Or another option: “If you are shooting a portrait, it is better to place the eyes on the upper horizontal line of the golden ratio.” I would like to ask: what to do with portraits, where the eyes are somewhere else? Burn it? Should we anathematize the master photographers who made a mistake and did not place the eyes of those being portrayed there?
The answers to these questions come immediately after reading other formulations. According to other opinions, again for reasons of harmony, it is not necessary to place everything on the lines of the golden ratio and at their intersection, as some authors write. You can instead place everything needed for harmony, including the eyes, somewhere nearby or even on the lines of thirds. To do this, some camera manufacturers even mark the screen, and it can be seen through the viewfinder too. How far from the magic lines can we move something? For those who do not distinguish between these two rules and consider one rule to be a simplification of the other, the answer is obvious: at least by the distance by which the lines of thirds differ from the lines of the golden section.
Lines of thirds:
Golden ratio lines:
Lay one on top of the other and paint the area between them:
Set aside the same distance on each side of the thick lines and paint over again:
We get that part of the frame plane into which something important should fall. Don't you think that there is a high probability that something important will always end up there?
But it turns out that not everyone believes that the rule of thirds is a simplified rule of the golden ratio. Some people think that the rule arose from the fact that each of us simply has two eyes (although not all of us) and that the eyes conditionally divide the plane of the frame into three parts. It’s not entirely clear why they are divided into identical parts, but that doesn’t matter. Religion does not allow us to divide the frame into unequal parts.
Supporters of the pure rule of the golden ratio say that we should forget about the rule of thirds. Instead, we must remember that the golden ratio is not limited to four lines in a plane and that everything is much more complex, interesting and harmonious.
