Golden Triangle
GOLDEN TRIANGLE
Good for scenes that include diagonal lines and elements.
The Golden Triangle is a composition technique that divides the frame into three triangles using diagonal lines that intersect within the image. It is designed to guide the placement of key elements, especially in scenes with strong diagonal lines, creating a dynamic and visually balanced composition. The layout provides flexibility, allowing the main subject and supporting elements to be positioned within the triangles, along the lines, or at the points of intersection. In left-to-right reading cultures, a descending diagonal positions the main subject first before supporting elements, while an ascending diagonal leads with supporting elements, making the main subject the final focal point.
What it's good for
The Golden Triangle is excellent for creating dynamic compositions with a sense of movement and direction. It is particularly effective for photographs that include diagonal lines or elements, as it aligns with the natural flow of the scene, leading the viewer’s eyes through the image. This technique is ideal for emphasizing the relationship between the main subject and supporting elements, adding structure without feeling overly rigid. It also provides flexibility for creative framing, making it suitable for a variety of scenes and subjects.
When to use it
The Golden Triangle works best in compositions with strong diagonal lines, such as architecture, landscapes, or action shots. It is particularly useful for framing subjects at an angle, like a person leaning, a slanted tree, or a winding path. This technique is effective for scenes where you want to balance multiple elements dynamically, such as in environmental portraits or storytelling images. The Golden Triangle can also be flipped or rotated to adapt to the orientation of the scene, making it versatile for both horizontal and vertical compositions.
Steps to apply the artistic composition
Identify the Scene's Main Subject: Choose the most prominent, closest, or most interesting element as the focal point.
Find Supporting Elements: Observe smaller or complementary objects in the background or around the main subject that align with the diagonals.
Divide the Frame: Split the frame into three triangles by drawing one diagonal line across oppostie corners of the frame and a perpendicular line from the diagonal line to a corner.
Place the Main Subject: Position the main subject inside one of the triangles, along a guiding diagonal line, or at the intersection of the lines for emphasis.
Arrange Supporting Elements: Align the supporting elements along the diagonal lines or within the remaining triangles to create a cohesive flow.
Flip or Rotate as Needed: Adjust the orientation of the triangles to fit the natural angles and direction of the scene.
Refine the Composition: Ensure the scene feels balanced and the elements work together to guide the viewer’s eyes naturally through the image.
Cultural Considerations
Top Left to Bottom Right (Descending Diagonal): In cultures where text is read left-to-right (like English), this diagonal creates a natural and calming flow for the eye, mimicking the reading direction. It often conveys a sense of movement downward, which can evoke feelings of relaxation, completion, or even decline, depending on the context. If the main subject is at the top left of the diagonal, it’s perceived as the starting point, with the supporting elements leading the viewer downward. If the main subject is at the bottom right, it’s interpreted as the destination, with the diagonal guiding the eye toward it.
Bottom Left to Top Right (Ascending Diagonal): This diagonal moves against the natural reading flow in left-to-right cultures, creating a sense of energy, tension, or aspiration. It conveys upward movement, which is often associated with growth, progression, or optimism. If the main subject is at the bottom left, it’s seen as the starting point, emphasizing the journey or progression upward. If the main subject is at the top right, it’s perceived as the culmination or goal, with the supporting elements building toward it.
NOTE: The Golden Triangles composition rule is based on the Fibonacci ratio of 1.618, which might not be the same ratio as your photo.
Overview
The Golden Triangle
Creating a memorable photo requires more than aiming the camera in the general direction of a pretty view. If you want your images to look like the ones you see on the Instagram pages of famous photographers, you must use an artistic composition rule like the Golden Triangle.
What is the Golden Triangle?
Using the idea of triangular shapes in photographs isn’t new. It reflects what we see in our environment. The image of a group of friends always looks better when the tallest person is in the middle, and the shorter ones are at the sides. This mirrors majestic natural shapes like the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland and architectural marvels like the Great Pyramid of Giza. In their upright form, looking at these triangles has an uplifting psychological effect. The triangle’s wide base and pointy top make it look solid and stable. Can you now imagine an inverted pyramid with its tip wedged in the desert sand? It seems likely to topple at any moment. Just looking at this image makes many people uncomfortable. It gives the feeling of instability and creates tension. This is the power that triangles of different shapes have on the viewer.
The Golden Triangle is different from both of the examples just described because it varies from the equal-angled triangle. It’s not symmetrical, so it affects you in other ways. Look at the Golden Triangle on the Wise Camera app and imagine the apex of the large triangle overlaid onto the scene of railway tracks. This produces a stunning image of perspective. Because this upright triangle is simple and has a well-defined shape, it brings a feeling of order and depth to the image.
The Golden Triangle has a line running diagonally from one corner to the other. This makes two triangles. A line is then drawn from one of the other corners to meet the diagonal line at right angles. Because of the rectangular shape of a standard photograph, these triangles differ in size. This is what creates the dynamic tension in the image, making it so interesting. Placing your subjects on angles to match the lines on the iPhone’s screen makes a balanced but lively composition. Diagonal lines help you avoid static and boring shots, suggesting movement and flow instead. Because of the way the Golden Triangle’s shapes dominate an image, they lead the viewer’s eyes on an adventure, traveling from one compositional element to the next. It’s a subtle process that happens without awareness, but it makes us enjoy a photo more.
When to Use the Golden Triangle
The best way to use the shape of the Golden Triangle in a composition is to fill one of the triangles with the main subject or diagonal position shapes from a scene, so they run along with two of the lines. Placing a significant part of the subject matter at a point where two guidelines intersect gives you extra bonus points for composition.
A good photo always tells a story; it takes the viewer on a journey around the picture. Through the Wise Camera app, use the largest triangle for your main subject, so it forms a solid foundation for the rest of your story, then lines up another element in one of the triangles pointing towards the main feature. Shafts of light through shadowed streets, extended legs of a beautiful model, and rolling hills in landscape shots are all perfect examples of how the Golden Triangle is used to create balanced and exciting photos. For even greater effect, place supporting elements along any of the diagonal lines. If necessary, tap the screen to switch the triangles around, so your scene fits this form of composition in a natural way.
Landscapes with large, sloping mountain ranges and seascapes with waves rising to one side of the frame—they all have diagonal lines that fit the classical Golden Triangle format. Download the Wise Photos app to see how your photos improve through clever cropping and the thoughtful placement of the main parts of the photographic story you are telling through your image. With the Wise Photos app, you can easily overlay Golden Triangle lines onto one of your existing photos to check, adapt, and improve composition.
The Golden Triangle composition is also helpful in portrait photography. If a standard, upright portrait looks a bit dull, have the person lean forward while seated. Bending the arms and legs makes diagonals that fit the Golden Triangle. Then move in close to your subject for another shot and use the two focal points at the intersection of the lines to emphasize the combination of their head and shoulders. Move closer again and do the same with the eyes and face. Or step back and use the angle of the person’s body to follow the main diagonal while keeping the face at an intersecting line.
How Does it Improve Your Photos?
Every photo is improved by thoughtful composition, and the Golden Triangle provides structure to an image that is balanced yet lively. The viewer becomes engaged with the image because, for a change, their eyes track diagonal lines rather than the traditional horizontal and vertical format.
Roads, fences, and rivers are good examples of diagonal lines that offer perspective and depth to an image. Starting from the corner of the scene, the viewer follows these lines, and they are taken deeper into the story of the image, finding interesting subplots along the way. Incorporating lines and angles into your compositions create eye-catching photos. And the Golden Triangle makes your subject stand out in an intelligent and classical way.
Final Words
Although the Golden Triangle isn’t commonly known, it was used in paintings and sculptures for centuries. And this artistic composition rule is still used by many professional photographers to make their images more sophisticated. The next time you switch on your iPhone’s camera, open the Wise Camera app and look for triangular shapes to create an image that is unique and powerful.
In Depth Article
Storytelling with Artistic Composition
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