The history of "rule of thirds"

[bdbolin]

Hey guys,
I added a little blurp to my site that talks about where the "rule of thirds" originated from, and how it links to nature. Thus we call it a rule (due to the rule in nature), and not a principal.

Take a look: Rule Of Thirds Photography (about half way down the page). I learned about it in school and found more info. The greeks used it in their architecture and stuff... anyways, check it out. Very interesting. Few youtube links too.

[dcclark]

You seem to be confusing the "rule of thirds" with the idea of the golden ratio. Two thirds (2/3) is 0.6666... (repeating), not exactly 0.6. Meanwhile, the golden ratio is about 1.618, and the inverse golden ratio is 1/1.618, which is about 0.618. While the two numbers are similar, they are certainly different.

To be precise, the golden ratio IS the number which comes from ratios of Fibonacci numbers... not the number 2/3.

Anyhow, there is lots to be found out there. I think that the rule of thirds may simply have come from an innate need for balance, but the simultaneous need to avoid perfectly equal division. The "rule of thirds" achieves that well by balancing parts of the photo (1/3 against 2/3) without making them exactly equal.

[bdbolin]

Good points dcclark,

The golden ratio came from the fibonacci sequence: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21, etc.
Take any two numbers and it's within 0.6. The TRUE number is 1.618 as you said, however that is only when dividing much larger numbers. Starting from the lower numbers (2/3) = .666

The numbers are slightly off, yet that is where the history of The Rule of Thirds came from.
This guy has a good article joining the two: The Lazy Rule of Thirds | Jake Garn Photography
In his words, the rule of thirds is simply the lazy way of using the golden ration.

Regardless of how close these two rules are, the point in my article was more to demonstrate how closely tied in we are with the fibonacci sequence in nature, thus giving reason as to why images using 1/3 are generally more appealing then one randomly shot.

Anyways, someday I'll add more to my article and try clearing things up. In the mean time, I have a mid-term to study for!

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by bdbolin

Good points dcclark,

The golden ratio came from the fibonacci sequence: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21, etc.

The golden ratio was around long before Fibonacci and his number sequence.

Anyways, someday I'll add more to my article and try clearing things up. In the mean time, I have a mid-term to study for!

Better study hard, because your claims as to the basis of the golden ratio/section are way off.

Do you know anything about fractals?

[bdbolin]

Lol, my mid term isn't even on this stuff (thank god).

Regardless of anything, it is still interesting and these details are aside from the point my article was based on. :P Or that's the story I'm sticking too

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by bdbolin

Lol, my mid term isn't even on this stuff (thank god).

Regardless of anything, it is still interesting and these details are aside from the point my article was based on. :P Or that's the story I'm sticking too

No problem.

I hope that you realize that some of us work in this field? You might want to re-read that article and get into those details.

[LeeR]

I have a real love hate relationship with The Rule of Thirds. Yes, the history dating back to the Greeks is fascinating, but it is so often misapplied that I suspect it damages as many compositions as it helps. It is forensic in nature in that it was developed by people observing a lot of artistic works and drawing a conclusion rather than by the artists themselves.Artists place elements where "it feels right", not according to some archaic formula. Great art is intuitive and trying to reduce it to a formula, no matter how ancient, is not going to work. Honestly, what other ancient Greek or Roman artistic notion are you willing to adopt just because it is ancient? No, this is one of those rules that was just made to be broken. A better course of action is to experiment a lot and learn to trust that little voice that tells you when things "feel right."

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by LeeR

I have a real love hate relationship with The Rule of Thirds. Yes, the history dating back to the Greeks is fascinating, but it is so often misapplied that I suspect it damages as many compositions as it helps. It is forensic in nature in that it was developed by people observing a lot of artistic works and drawing a conclusion rather than by the artists themselves.Artists place elements where "it feels right", not according to some archaic formula. Great art is intuitive and trying to reduce it to a formula, no matter how ancient, is not going to work. Honestly, what other ancient Greek or Roman artistic notion are you willing to adopt just because it is ancient? No, this is one of those rules that was just made to be broken. A better course of action is to experiment a lot and learn to trust that little voice that tells you when things "feel right."

The golden section/proportion, Fibonacci sequences “feel good” because these are some of the fundamental, mathematical principles of the universe that do not only apply to art but the virtually everything.

Great art is “intuitive” because great artists intuitively comprehend those golden proportions.

Many a modern “artist” has broken the old, scientific/artistic rules and wondered why their creations were not in the running for the long term.

[Yucel]

Got any info on a fibonacci crop guide feature for Photoshop CS5?

How about examples of where fibonacci crop guides fail?

For a links to 12 more video compositional guides for photography, see list here: Compositional Elements in Photography – 12 Video Demos – Depth of Field, Rule of Thirds, Golden Mean aka Phi, Golden Ratio, Fibonacci Spirals, 1:1.618, etc. | glamourphotography.co