8 The Golden Section, the Rule of Thirds, and the Rule of Visual Weight

Since a compelling photograph is usually about an effective arrangement rather than about the content, are there “rules,” or guidelines, for creating the most effective and engaging composition? Interestingly enough, there are. I call them the rules of engagement, and we’ll cover two of the biggest in this chapter: the first is what the Greeks called the Golden Section, which, as many photographers will suggest, was later identified in many photographic tutorials as the Rule of Thirds; the second is about using line to define visual weight in your image.

Bryan Peterson's Understanding Composition Field Guide: How to See and Photograph Images with Impact
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