Foundtobeinherentinmanyofthegreatworksofartand
architecture,itiscommonlyobservedinmanyformsofthe
naturalworld,fromtheproportionsofthehumanbodyto
thestructureofmanyplantsandnaturalstructures.Based
onthefindingsofFibonacci,anItalianmathematicianfrom
the13thcentury,thecompositionswithfoundationsbuilt
upon the golden spiral are thought to have the most
harmonious proportions to the human eye.
ThefirsttwonumbersintheFibonaccisequenceare 0 and
1,andeachsubsequentnumberisthesumoftheprevious
two as follows:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89...and so on.
Thegoldenrectangleandthegoldenspiralarestructures
basedonthesefigures.Theyarethoughttobeshapesthat
oureyesandbraincandeciphereasily,becausetheyareso
used to seeing these proportions in everyday life.
Theratioofthegoldenrectangleisapproximately1:1.618.
A series of decreasing sized squares are then arranged
withintherectangle,andaspiralthenconstructedwithin
these. This is the golden spiral.
Theareaatthecentreofthespiralisnamedthesweetspot:
thisiswherethephotographershouldaimtopositionthe
intended focal point of the image.
Photoshop,recognizingtheimportanceofcomposition,has
nowintroducedsixoftheserulesintotheircroppingviews,
eachhavinganoverlayoptionwherethephotographercan
easily see where to place the importantelements of his
image.Encompassingtheruleofthirds, agrid,diagonal,
triangle,the goldenratio and the goldenspiral, each of