Applying the rule of thirds is commonly referred to in photography as the apogee of good composition. There are, of course, other compositional methods which can work just as well. Golden mean or golden ratio, used regularly in classical painting, or the double square method initially championed by Daubigny and favoured latterly by Van Gogh, remain prevalent. Double square had to be used more instinctively with painting. Although it looked stable, it was still desireable to avoid monotony and the “big sandwich” look. In photography, one doesn’t “move paint around”, rather one looks for elements that are already in place or about to move into place. As someone who shoots handheld on a 2:3 ratio, I often subconsciously err towards a golden mean solution. In the image presented here, I’ve consciously attempted one. A successful attempt could be measured in how often the golden mean can be sub-divided – golden means within golden means (Take a look at “The Death of Marat” by David).
As befits my signature style, I look for layered groupings of people moving rythmically, separated in plastic space across the frame. In this image, the first fix was on the figure at the back, who obligingly stood stock still on the 3/8 axis. Also standing, the figure to his right acted as a good half-way foil. Then, the waiting to see who slotted in elsewhere. Rarely works so well – and a pity about the figure overlap!
