300px, Example of Golden Triangle method on a painting. Compositional elements fall within the triangles
The golden triangle rule is a rule of thumb in
visual composition for photographs or paintings, especially those which have elements that follow diagonal lines. The frame is divided into four triangles of two different sizes, done by drawing one diagonal from one corner to another, and then two lines from the other corners, touching the first at 90 degree angles. There are a couple ways this can be used:
1. Filling one of the triangles with the subject
2. Placing the diagonal elements so that they run along two of the lines
Use in software
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
has an option putting guidelines for the golden triangle in the crop tool (in this case, it is simply called "triangle").
These guidelines can be flipped horizontally, by hitting shift-O or selecting "Cycle Overlay Orientation" from the overlay pull down menu.
See also
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Diagonal method
The diagonal method (DM) is a rule of thumb in photography, painting and drawing. Dutch photographer and lecturer Edwin Westhoff discovered the method when, after having long taught the rule of thirds in photography courses, he conducted visual e ...
- Another method for using diagonal lines in composition.
References
Photographic techniques
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