A photographer friend and I are working through a list of challenges from a Popular Photography article. Our current challenge is “The Golden Ratio.”
Design Ideas — The Golden Ratio
Whenever I start one of these challenges with her, the first thing I do is to look up the term on the internet and see as much as I can about what it is and how it is used. In my searches on the golden ratio I found this image on www.livescience.com:
The Golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. It is often symbolized using phi, after the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In an equation form, it looks like this:
a/b = (a+b)/a = 1.6180339887498948420 …
The golden ratio appears in all forms of nature and science including flower petals, seed heads, pine cones, tree branches, sea shells, and spiral galaxies. Long ago someone figured out that the golden ratio was very pleasing to the eye. Studies show that our brains are hard-wired to recognize this pattern.
I don’t consciously look for the golden ratio when I make photographs but I do remember I noticed it when I made the photograph of the rose at the top of this post. I saw the way the stem of leaves curved gracefully towards the rose and how the rose seemed to complete the spiral curve that the stem of leaves suggested.
Learning and Practice
Artists train their eyes to see and create pleasing compositions. We learn by trying things and making mistakes, studying the work of other artists, and getting feedback on our work. When I took my first photography workshop in Minneapolis I unknowingly placed every flower or thing that I photographed smack dab in the middle of the frame. This did not create very interesting photographs. When the workshop instructor pointed out what I was doing I learned something new and began trying different placement of objects in the frame.
Later I learned about the “rule of thirds” which I now use frequently as I compose photographs through the view finder of my camera. But I have not focused (no pun intended) on the golden ratio until recently.
Creating art means training your eye to see and create beautiful forms through your composition choices. It is a never ending journey.
Take time to think about design as you create.
May you walk in beauty.
This is not the golden ratio but I love the graceful curve of this flower bud. This is a case where placing the subject in the middle of the frame works.
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