Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Fibonacci Circle | The Golden Ratio
The Fibonacci spiral
Well, here’s something that many of my photographer peers have excellent knowledge of, but still, it’s great to share this with those new to the craft. Or even teach an old dog new tricks. Ha ha!
Regarding my photography, geometry, and composition are how I see the world. The Fibonacci spiral or golden ratio is one composition that has helped me improve to find that perfect balance over the years. For example, this shot of gorgeous couple Kelley Terry and Erich Schoefer captured inside a limo last month.
The temptation when presented with an exciting scene like this I liken to a football/soccer player about to score a goal, and the striker gets a rush of blood to the head, completely missing the goal (I’ve been there).
It’s good to take a deep breath, think, analyze, shoot the angles working the scene, and use geometry as you’re shooting while keeping in mind the human element, which in my case, was the emotional impact.
Take the photo of the cyclist passing by from Henri Cartier-Bresson. I’m sure he was framing the Golden Ratio/Fibonacci spiral. Bresson was formally and later a painter and studied with great mentors in his early years. Bresson almost always used a dynamic symmetry grid, that is, geometry, in his mind, and transferred to the 35mm frame, creating an arabesque from the stairs that matches the flow of movement in the bicyclist’s direction.
Dynamic symmetry is the solid foundation for masterful art, but it doesn’t stop there. Many design elements have to be learned
“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Fibonacci Circle | The Golden Ratio
To access all this goodness in Lightroom, select an image, go to develop, R, press O until you come to the spiral, hold shift to move the spiral round for horizontal or vertical images.
