The golden spiral is a great composition rule to use for food photography... or is it?
I'm a self-taught food photographer and have relied on resources like food photography books and good old Google to pick up tricks and techniques. I, like many people I now teach, found composition one of the most daunting areas.
I understood the end goal: to create an image that felt harmonious, with nothing feeling out of place; and to have a main focal point with other items leading the eye around the image. But achieving this felt impossible. However much I read up on composition techniques, I still found it really difficult to arrange the plates and props in a pleasing way.
I opened book after book on the chapter on composition and each held something called the Golden Spiral in high esteem. Drawn from mathematics and naturally occurring spirals it is supposed to help to lead the eye through the whole image and make it feel balanced and pleasing. The idea is that you place the focal point of the image in the centre of the small coil and the rest of the subject(s) inside or on the curve. The spiral can be flipped horizontally or vertically and can be used in portrait or landscape orientation.
I don't know about you but I find it nigh on impossible to visualise the Golden Spiral as I'm standing in front of a plate of food and some props!
I have to admit that I gave up on the Golden Spiral and many years later I still feel the same way. It's one step too far and takes away all the fun and freedom of being creative.
The much simpler Rule Of Thirds is actually derived from the Golden Spiral and is easy to use, especially as it can be displayed on most cameras and phones and on the cropping tool in editing apps. It divides the image up into 9 equal rectangles.
You can use it to decide where to place the focal point and supporting props as you are composing the shot.
It’s natural to place the main subject in the centre of the shot, and it isn’t necessarily wrong to do so, but it can become repetitive if you do it all the time. The Rule Of Thirds can be used in a number of ways to show you how to put the subject off centre and yet still have an image that feels well composed and balanced.
A shot that is ‘balanced’ looks as if everything is in the right place and all the props or items work together. An unbalanced shot, in comparison, feels a little uncomfortable to look at, proportions are wrong, and it feels ‘off’. Composition rules like the Rule Of Thirds are there to help you know where to put subjects to create balance and harmony, and to guide the eye around the image.
The Rule Of Thirds encourages you to place the main subject in or on a third rather than in the centre. A great place for the focal point is where the lines intersect. Place secondary subjects on a diagonal intersection to lead the eye through the image.
In this image a main focal point, the stack of biscuits, is on one of the vertical lines and on the intersection. A secondary subject, the jar of lemon curd, is on the diagonally opposite intersection. The eye travels between the two, going from front to back and this creates a sense of depth.
I've used two backdrops for this shot, one as the table top and one to suggest a wall. Although the cloth hides it, there is a join or horizon line and this is also on a third. This is yet another way to use the Rule Of Thirds to create a balanced image.
This image also uses another of my favourite and very simple rules of composition: arranging props along a simple curve. The eye starts at the front of the image on the two biscuits and curves up and out of the back.
This photograph of prawn ramen follows the Rule Of Thirds, with the main subject (the prawns on the top) placed on the intersection. You can also see a clear curve as the eye sweeps around following the bowls. And, lo and behold, it perfectly fits the golden spiral!
Using the Rule Of Thirds and Curves, either separately or together, to compose images of food is infinitely more simple than using the Golden Spiral.
If you'd like some more simple composition rules for food photography, download my free PDF guide "8 easy ways to compose food photographs."
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