Need help with image composition? This card lets you apply the Golden Ratio

By Anthony Thurston June 30, 2016

golden ratio card improve composition gsf horz 05 2048x2048 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Composition is an important piece to any image; it helps determine the mood, flow, and focus — greatly affecting how a viewer sees the image. There are many rules and tools that one can use to help improve the composition in an image, the rule of thirds being one of the most well-known and used. Another, known as the Golden Ratio, has a bit of a following of its own, but given its mathematical basis and varying methods of application to photography, many find it too complicated.

That, however, was before this pocket-sized Golden Section Finder came to be. The small transparent card is small enough to fit in a wallet, pocket, or backpack compartment, making it highly convenient to keep with you. Want to look for good composition in a scene you want to photograph? Pull out the card, and look around to find a composition that fits.

“The golden section is the ratio between the dimensions of natural and geometric forms. Historically, artists, designers, and architects have used it as a means of defining beauty in a theoretical rather than intuitive way.” Areaware, the company behind the Golden Section Finder, says in its description of the product, “Use the Golden Section Finder, a pocket-sized gazing device, to locate the proportional perfection in your surroundings.”

It looks like this could be a nice compositional tool to pull out of your bag every now and then. The tough part about using it specifically in photography that you can’t look at it through your lens. You may, however, be able to place it as an overlay over your camera’s rear LCD in certain situations.

Though the jury is still out on whether this will bring any marked improvement to your work, it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot if you feel like you need help with your composition.

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Anthony Thurston

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Anthony is an internationally published photographer based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Specializing primarily in…

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