Golden Ratio
The proportion of approximately 1:1.618 that has been used in art and architecture as a compositional division.
Formula / rule
φ = (1 + √5) / 2 ≈ 1.618
Measured in
ratio
In depth
Applied to the frame, the golden ratio gives division points slightly closer to the centre than the rule of thirds — about 38 per cent rather than 33. Claims of biological or universal preference for the proportion are weak, but the divisions it produces are pleasing and marginally different from thirds, which is reason enough to know it.
Examples in practice
A horizon placed at the golden division sits a little higher than the rule of thirds would suggest, tightening the sky.