with a simple triangle

Using Triangles in Composition & Posing

This trick is no secret.  In fact it’s not even a trick.  This simple compositional principle is deep rooted in our subconsciousness’ desire for simplicity and completeness.  If something is too simple it’s not complete, if it’s too complex it’s not simple… the triangle has the envied position of being the simplest of all the polygons, after all it has the minimum number of lines required to ‘close’ the shape and promote it from a simple line to a polygon.  Simple and complete, all rolled into a single entity.

The triangle has hypnotized artists for thousands of years. But you already know all that crap.

In fact, if you have read just a tiny bit about art or paid a little attention as you look at paintings by the masters (you do go to museums right?) then you know what I’m talking about.

So why read it again?  Because I’m more entertaining than your stupid art class, that’s why.

It’s hard to believe that Leonardo Davinci painted the Mona Lisa over five HUNDRED years ago.  What better example of the brilliant use of a single, prominent triangle to create a stunning and simple composition.  But wait you say, “That’s not a triangle, all the corners are cropped out.”  Well, guess what, an implied triangle is just as strong as an actual triangle… and if that doesn’t satisfy your naysaying read the evidence which suggests (and I believe) Leonardo’s masterpiece was originally larger, and probably included the entire shape.

So there.

What does this have to do with photography?

As the photographer you have ultimate control of what you show between the four edges of your frame, that is your kingdom to create whatever it is you want.  Do you need manipulate your whole photo-taking existence around worshiping the triangle and putting one into  every image?  Absolutely not, but if you spot the opportunity to invite the serendipitous triangle into your images when the opportunity presents itself then I think it will give your work that extra, subtle blend of simplicity and completeness.

Some Examples by Jake Garn

I’m not really sure why these triangles exist, I didn’t really plan them.  I think they are just part of a sub-conscious preference towards arranging subjects into triangles, or maybe it’s a sub-conscious attraction I have towards selecting these types of ‘happy accidents’ in the editing process.  Whatever it is you’ve probably noticed that a lot of my images tend to feature prominent triangles, here are just a handful.  All shot within the last 10 months.

I’d love to read your comments and thoughts about why YOU think triangles improve composition, or if you disagree completely.  Comment away!

Equipment Links

I used different equipment to achieve each of these images but here is a list of some of the items I used most. Links will take you directly to the B&H Photo Video product page for the individual item (the more you buy from them using my links the more encouraged they are to send me product to review for this blog, keep that in mind!)

• Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
• Lens: Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
• Tripod: Manfrotto 190XPROB
• Tripod Grip: Manfrotto Ballhead (322RC2)
• Memory Card: SanDisk Extreme 16GB
• Strobes: Elinchrom 600RX Monolights and Elinchrom 300RX Monolight
• Light Modifier: Large Photoflex Softbox with grid
• Light Modifier: Medium Photoflex Softbox with grid
• Light Modifier: Rotalux Midi Octa by Elinchrome (53″)
• Software: Adobe Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop CS5

Rule of Thirds

“Rules are made to be broken.”  -My favorite paradox.

I can count on one hand the number of rules I will obey without question, based solely on fear of catastrophic consequences: I turn off personal electronics during landing and take-off, I keep my hands inside the ride at all times, I don’t rock vending machines, I resist the urge to climb over zoo fences and I no longer lunge for a police officer’s holstered gun on April Fools Day. Pretty much everything else is up for debate.

That brings me to the Rule of Thirds. After a tremendous amount of research (I read a book) I learned that the rule of thirds may actually be just a lazy man’s sham.  That’s right, I said it… a lazy sham! On the surface the rule of thirds doesn’t really make a ton of sense, I mean why would a composition broken up into three equal parts be innately more appealing than any other random spattering in a composition?  Well what if I told you that nature actually does instinctively, and inexplicably seem to have a naturally occurring preference towards a specific ratio, a peculiar number, a divine ratio if you will?

To find the real story behind the “rule of thirds” we need to go back in time, not to the renaissance, not to the Greeks, and not even to Adam nor Eve… even further.  We need to go to the creation of the universe, why is that?  Well I’ll tell you why.  There is a number that determines how a sunflower’s seeds grow, it determines the path a hawk takes when diving at it’s prey, it is echoed in the breeding habits of rabbits and it even determines how the spirals in a spiral galaxy are laid out.  It’s all very simple in it’s beauty and best of all, it’s all true. If you want to wrap your head around it further then I highly recommend the book The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio (Check it out here The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World’s Most Astonishing Number).

Interestingly enough this mathematical principle has been seen in artwork as early as 400 B.C., today we refer to this line by several names: the Golden Ratio, the Golden Mean, The Divine Proportion, but whatever you call it you should notice that it does not line up with the rule of thirds. Almost but not quite…

In other words, if you want to construct a composition where the main points fall on lines used by nature in absolutely mind-blowingly different ways then follow the Golden Mean.  However, if you want to fold up the paper into thirds and have your composition line up with that then by all means, follow the rule of thirds.

Of course I’m not recommending that you get out your protractor and start measuring your images to makes sure they follow these naturally occurring principles, but what I am recommending that you do is to start seeing the world in a way that Mother Nature tends to see the world, and that is in a proportion that is absolutely elegant in it’s mathematical beauty.  If you do then your images may start to be just a bit stronger in their appeal.

The following images are all happy accidents… meaning the alignment of this spiral (called a Fibonacci spiral) was not pre-planned, it just happens that major parts of the composition fall along major intersections or lines within the spiral. I suppose that’s just one more thing my images and breeding patterns of rabbits have in common.