Composition aid

[peter27]

Here's a nice online tool that might be helpful. You Need to copy the URL of your photo and then paste this in the load image bar. The rest is plain sailing and you can check golden mean, spiral and triangles.

On-Line helper for testing photo for Golden Section (Rule of Thirds, Golden Mean, Golden Ratio, Golden Spiral, Golden Proportion, Golden Triangles) Rule.


Have fun with it.

Pete

 

[Big Mike]

That is a neat on-line tool.

Although, if anyone has Adobe Lightroom, you can display all those compositional aids (and more).

 

[amolitor]

I love tools that talk about "Golden Spiral" and then just draw any fool spiral into the frame.

(for reference, the Golden Spiral is drawn in a Golden Rectangle, it's a figure that is very specific to the Golden Rectangle. Most pictures are not cropped to a golden rectangle)

 

[runnah]

I would like to go on record stating that during my career I never used any composition aides or enhancers.

 

[peter27]

I love tools that talk about "Golden Spiral" and then just draw any fool spiral into the frame.

(for reference, the Golden Spiral is drawn in a Golden Rectangle, it's a figure that is very specific to the Golden Rectangle. Most pictures are not cropped to a golden rectangle)

Once the image is loaded and spiral has been selected you can tick the lines box to see the rectangle.

By the way, this was intended for beginners to use, play around with and learn from; taking an elitist stance is quite a strange thing to do on a forum such as TPF, isn't it?

 

[Biev]

I would like to go on record stating that during my career I never used any composition aides or enhancers.

You never use the viewfinder?

 

[amolitor]

I love tools that talk about "Golden Spiral" and then just draw any fool spiral into the frame.

(for reference, the Golden Spiral is drawn in a Golden Rectangle, it's a figure that is very specific to the Golden Rectangle. Most pictures are not cropped to a golden rectangle)

Once the image is loaded and spiral has been selected you can tick the lines box to see the rectangle.

By the way, this was intended for beginners to use, play around with and learn from; taking an elitist stance is quite a strange thing to do on a forum such as TPF, isn't it?

Not for ME it's not. I do it all the time!

More to the point, I find this sort of web site remarkably harmful. I feel, quite strongly, that these sorts of web sites teach the wrong things. There are thousands, perhaps millions, of web sites out there that trot out the same tedious "tipz 4 snapz" sorts of things which inform so much of our photographic output. They're thoughtlessly thrown together, copied ruthlessly from one another, and frequently cannot even manage to copy their information correctly. It is perhaps fruitless to rail against the tide, but I will be damned if I'll sit by in silence.

 

[Derrel]

I love tools that talk about "Golden Spiral" and then just draw any fool spiral into the frame.

(for reference, the Golden Spiral is drawn in a Golden Rectangle, it's a figure that is very specific to the Golden Rectangle. Most pictures are not cropped to a golden rectangle)

I made a macaroni salad yesterday with spiral pasta!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it was beautiful!

I mean no offense to the OP, but I have to side with amolitor on this kind of web device: remarkably UN-helpful. Maybe even harmful. A single, thin Goodwill book on art, painting, or photography would likely offer many people more actual GOOD advice, and more insight, than a dozen such web pages....and all for $2.99.

Golden Mean, Golden Rectangle, Golden Spiral, Golden Dome...no, wait, that's a t Univ. of Notre Dame...well, I think it's ALL basically of very,very,very little actual value. And yet, it is often-repeated.

 

[Benco]

Here we go again..

 

[SCraig]

All of the so-called "Rules of Composition" as based on the presumption that the majority of people prefer something artistic that adheres to those rules. If that's the case, if people truly do prefer compositions that adhere to those rules, then why are compositional aids of any kind necessary? Look through the viewfinder, find what looks the best, and voila, you're done. If you are a normal person it will automatically adhere to the rules of composition.

 

[shaylou]

All of the so-called "Rules of Composition" as based on the presumption that the majority of people prefer something artistic that adheres to those rules. If that's the case, if people truly do prefer compositions that adhere to those rules, then why are compositional aids of any kind necessary? Look through the viewfinder, find what looks the best, and voila, you're done. If you are a normal person it will automatically adhere to the rules of composition.

I agree. Rules in photography are people with no creativity, and beginners. Point is there is a need for these rules for guild lines for beginners. It gives them compositional foundation to start with . Once they get going they use the rule for the most part without thinking about it, like we do. Or choose to challenge the rules to create their own personal style or attitude for a shot . Of course you may disagree, it's only my opinion.