Take the golden ratio with you everywhere you go using this wallet sized view finder
Jul 4, 2016
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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The golden ratio isn’t really something I think about much, or at all, when composing a photograph. But if it’s something you’ve wanted to start applying more to your compositions, then now you can do so with this handy dandy new pocket sized golden ratio view finder from Areaware.
Dating back to Euclid’s Elements over 2,300 years ago, it’s been a go-to aesthetic guide for many designers and artists. It’s also been suggested that it was followed during the construction of the Parthenon in Greece, but that’s a whole different debate.
So what is the Golden Ratio? Well, in mathematics, it’s defined thusly…
Two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.
After working things out, this number basically boils down to “about 1.618”. It’s actually 1.6180339887… and the decimal points go on forever. But, for the sake of simple numbers, it’s rounded off and approximated to 1.618.
The Golden Ratio is an argument that’s been put forth as to why computer monitors are often 16:10 rather than 16:9 like TVs. 16:10 is just that bit closer to the 1.618:1 golden ratio (1.6:1 for 16:10 vs. 1.78:1 for 16:9).
Whether or not that actually has anything to do with monitor design I’ve no idea, but there do seem to be a lot of golden ratio coincidences out there.
Anyway, for those that do believe in the power of the Golden Ratio, the most famous representation of it, the Golden Rectangle, is now available in a small plastic pocket sized form for only $10, thanks to Areaware.
If $10 is a bit much, you can always grab yourself an Illustrator template and print it yourself onto some acetate sheet.
So, rule of thirds, golden ratio, what other design principles do you use or completely ignore in your photography? Let us know in the comments.
[via No Film School]
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John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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6 responses to “Take the golden ratio with you everywhere you go using this wallet sized view finder”
Why?
Lol boring
Nice! $10 is a little steep, but the nerd in me has to have it! Makes “Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land” come to life!
Watch out, you’re probably infected by a vicious form of gear acquisition syndrome ! :-)
Why not another photo app the does not record the templates.
This is the cancer in photography right now. Every social media site/app, you see dozens of posts of “photographers” daily who overlay “golden ratio” marks over photos tho brag about how much they “know”.. Even if it doesn’t really match up and was clearly a ‘rule of thirds’ shot. I’ve seen some people remove a really good photo from their feed, re-crop it to fit the ‘golden ratio’ and re-upload it with an overlay. Now, Ben, you’re lucky I never mention names, but I saw you do this… Shame… Shame.. Shame.. This is one surefire way to cripple your creativity and to stop yourself from thinking about how YOU want the photo to look. If I see any of you with one, a slap will be incoming.