Notes on composition

The golden section

The Golden section is a division based on the Golden number (1.618034 or a ratio 5:8) proportion and can be used as a method for placing the subject in an image or of dividing a composition into pleasing proportions. The ratio inside the frame, from the small part and the large part, is the same as the ratio between the large part to the whole.

Nina Indset Andersen - Sunflower

The rule of thirds

With the Rule of Thirds, the focus of interest must be placed at the intersection of lines that divide the frame into thirds from top to bottom and from left to right. 

Tiago Estima - Alentejo

Reference: David Prakel. (2006). Composition. Lausanne : AVA Academia

Aperture

Aperture is referred to the lens diaphragm opening inside a photographic lens. The size of the diaphragm opening in a camera lens regulates amount of light passes through onto the film inside the camera the moment when the shutter curtain in camera opens during an exposure process.  The size of an aperture in a lens can either be a fixed or the most popular form in an adjustable type (like an SLR camera). Aperture size is usually calibrated in f-numbers or f-stops. 

My aperture test:

The smaller aperture number is the more light passes through onto the film, therefore it affects depth of field, so less objects are in focus. The bigger aperture number is the less light passes through onto film, so the zone of sharpness is extended.  

To keep picture perfectly exposed while using different aperture I needed to change ISO and shutter speed.