Hate me all you want but I'm going to explain the math behind this concept first. It just wouldn't fit the theme of the blog if I just wrote about something artsy, you know? Bad rep, and all. You might have heard of something called the Golden Ratio, and it's usually represented by the letter $\mathtt \phi$ (phi). The golden ratio has been noted and observed in nature, through architecture, can be a nice fit for data trends, and a lot of man-made creations. Interestingly, it can be associated with many proportions in our world, as well. Hence, it is considered an important concept, especially when it comes to aesthetics and, in our case, the arts. We represent the golden ratio as the formula $\mathtt \phi =\frac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}=1.6180...$. So what does this mean?
What is the Golden Ratio?
Well, when we're speaking about ratios, this number represents a special proportion. When you take, let's say, the sides of a rectangle, it suffices the golden ratio if the ratio of the length and the width is the same as the ratio of their sum and the larger value. I'm going to plug another page on this blog; it's one that discusses the Fibonacci Sequence, and, interestingly, even that can be fitted to the golden ratio! The golden ratio can be easily seen when represented by a diagram and formula.
$\frac{a}{b}=\frac{a+b}{a}=\phi$
This rectangle illustrates the formula above.
Now when we take this in the context of taking pictures, it will become especially significant. You might have heard of the rule of thirds in photography, which talks about some imaginary grid and how utilizing it makes pictures much more artistic. It's actually more important than that, though!
What is the Rule of Thirds?
The rule of thirds states that if you were to break up an image into nine equal sections, if you place the subject of your photo on one of these lines, it will significantly increase the energy and interest in the photo. In order to break up a rectangle into nine parts, one would need two horizontal lines, and two vertical lines, making an almost 3x3 grid. When investigating common digital resolutions, 16:10 comes to mind quickly. It's a resolution that approximately fits within the golden ratio, and it is also close to the 35mm ratio.
The center of this giraffe's eye lays on an intersection of one of the four lines.
How Do These Two Concepts Tie Together?
It very well may be that humans simply find the golden ratio aesthetically pleasing, as it is more of a philosophical concept than a scientific one. Even in the realm of fashion, there has been an abundance of the golden ratio and golden spirals found within the faces and figures of models. When capturing landscapes, following the rule of thirds makes for an entirely more pleasing photograph than if the subject were just placed in the center. This is just a rule of thumb, no matter how it is explained.
This landscape features the mountain backdrop, and its most interesting point is immediately the location of the highest mountains.
When applying the rule of thirds, imagine drawing this grid in the frame of your camera, (though some cameras and smartphones come with a "grid" feature built in, where it does this for you...). In order to split a picture into three sections, you must create two lines, so create two lines in the photo. You can even choose two objects as reference for those two lines. After you have represented the lines, you must choose a subject to shadow over these objects. The references will be seen second to the main subject. This main subject must lay on one of the lines you created. The result is something much more interesting than if you just snapped a picture of the mountains.
This looks familiar...
Useful Applications of This Concept
The subtitle implies that everything we have just discussed is actually trivial, but that is not what I'm insinuating. While the rule of thirds is useful when snapping photos and sharing them to your friends on da Instagrams, no one might notice unless you're working with professionals, or are designing something on the front-end. In graphic design, webpage development follows many of the same rules as we do in photography, as they both attempt to reach the same goal: the creation of something aesthetically pleasing. The rule of thirds plays a HUGE role in this, as well as some other photography rules that we may discuss on this blog in the future. Webpages that have about 60% of the page filled with the more important content and the rest filled with navigation bars, ads, or other media might fair better than something that is just black and white with everything thrown into a table. Of course, it does not matter as much to the uninitiated, but guess what? Now YOU know... so when you're visiting webpages, reading magazines, watching commercials, or even taking your own pictures, think about how this rule might have been thought of or even implemented!
This GIF shows us interesting design choices when overlaying webpages to some golden ratio and rule of thirds templates.
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