The rule of thirds is the first thing that is taught about composition in photography. It seems to have some similarities with the golden ratio, but in reality, it is completely different. Let’s take a closer look at the history of this so-called rule for a better understanding.
The rule of thirds is a pretty simple rule. Divide the image into nine equal parts, by drawing two horizontal and two vertical lines one third from the edges. Place your object on one of the lines or at the intersection of the lines and you’re done. Sort.
While this can help achieve an acceptable layout in some cases, the rule of thirds was never intended that way. In fact, the origin has absolutely nothing to do with drawing the lines in the third part of the image. At first glance, the similarity to the golden ratio makes it seem that the two are related. Nothing is extra from the truth. Let me explain why by diving into history.
The Golden Ratio, Fibonacci and Archimedes
The golden ratio is an invention of mathematicians. It has nothing to do with the composition in the picture. A Greek named Euclid, who lived around 400 BC, discovered that dividing a straight line by a certain ratio could go on indefinitely. This ratio is an irrational number, which means it cannot be written as a natural fraction.
This irrational number is the golden ratio. The number is 1,618, followed by countless numbers and its Greek letter Phi.
It took 16 centuries before Leonardo of Pisa came up with a rather peculiar sequence of numbers. Each number is the sum of the two previous numbers and the sequence is infinite. This sequence is named after his nickname: the Fibonacci sequence.
Astronomer Johannes Kepler finally discovered the link between the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence. He figured out how the division between a Fibonacci number by the previous number in the sequence would reach the golden ratio with increasing precision.
Everyone knows about Archimedes. He exclaimed “eureka” when he discovered how to find out if the golden crown of King Hiëro of Syracuse was a fake. But Archimedes was also obsessed with spirals. One of the spirals he creates is Spirabilis Mirabilis, based on the golden ratio. We know this spiral better today as the Fibonacci Spiral (we’re sorry about that, Archimedes).
Luca Pacioli and the Golden Ratio for composition
We seem to find many examples in nature where the golden ratio and the Fibonacci spiral are present. Of course, we have a habit of looking at those similarities and ignoring all that have no similarities. However, the golden ratio is something that often occurs in things that grow in nature, such as the distribution of leaves on the stem or seeds of a sunflower.
Perhaps that is why an Italian monk named Luca Pacioli devised a general rule for composition. Somewhere between the 15th and 16th centuries, he stated how a painting becomes most realistic when composition is done according to mathematical rules. The golden ratio was chosen for this.
Today, we try to see the golden ratio in everything that has been built, painted or painted. We look for the golden ratio in buildings like the Parthenon, the Pyramids and even modern buildings. We draw Fibonacci spirals on famous paintings like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Rule of thirds
As to the origin of the rule of thirds, we must travel back in time to 1797. At that time, Sir Joshua Reynolds was teaching at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in his speech, he mentioned how a painting works best when using light and dark that are approximately 1/3:2/3.
There was never any mention of the rule of thirds, until an English painter named John Thomas Smith came up with it after reading speeches by Sir Joshua Reynolds. He went even further on the 1/3:2/3 division and said it should be used for everything in a layout.
There were a lot of people who didn’t like the rule of thirds, even in those days. A certain George Fields wrote about the downside of the rule of thirds in 1845, saying how its use would produce boring and monotonous images.
Today, the rule of thirds has been reduced to a series of lines in a photograph. You should place the object on one of the lines or at the intersection of those lines. This will give the image a lot of suspense and energy. Not everyone agrees, for obvious reasons. The original idea behind the rule of thirds, how light and shadow are distributed in an image, has been lost and forgotten.
Use the Rule of Thirds or the Golden Ratio
Once again back to modern times. Most photographers have learned to use the rule of thirds. I believe it works in some cases. But perhaps it would be wiser to use lines to distribute the object in the frame. It doesn’t have to be at a third, especially if you end up with the remaining two-thirds almost empty. Balance and visual flow in an image are much more important.
I think using something like the golden ratio works much better in many cases. Fibonacci spirals can help find visual flow through images. Still, there’s a problem. Because we often visualize these rules using crop tools in software like Lightroom and Photoshop, we look at the contours without realizing the composition is not following the golden ratio at all.
Those crop tools project the normals inside the aspect ratio of the image itself. This ratio can be 3:2, 4:3 or 5:4, to name a few. But this way, you won’t be looking at the lines with the golden ratio anymore, because that ratio has an aspect ratio of 1.618:1. So you might think you’re using it, but you’re not. On the other hand, the rule of thirds is independent of the aspect ratio of the image.
Find balance
It’s great to have all these rules, and I find it important to know where it comes from to understand why you should use it or not. It also illustrates that using these rules for the letter is often not very artistic. In the end, you can become more of a mathematician than a photographer.
I think it is much wiser to find balance in a photograph. Avoid distractions and use lines and curves to connect elements in your composition. You might be surprised how often it will have the golden ratio or even the rule of thirds.
There are other ways to achieve a composition. You can use the odds rule, negative space, or gesture rule. How do you compose your photos? Do you use the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, or another rule? Please share your favorite way in the comments below.
