Multiple Points

Choose 6-10 similar size objects against a background that is unfussy but not entirely plain.  Easier said than done having failed on several occasions to collect pebbles when the opportunity arose....I then approached the task by looking around the kitchen for inspiration, and begun by photographing jelly babies on a bread board.  I realised quite quickly that this wasn't going to work, and that the best pattern that this would produce would be a line of different coloured sweets or something similar but totally contrived. 

I then found some strawberries and placed a bowl near a window to get the maximum light. After taking each shot, I added in an extra strawberry.  To some extent, the pattern was determined by the way the strawberries fell in the bowl, which had been placed against a ledge.  I didn't use a tripod but tried to keep the same proportion within the frame (with varying degrees of success).

 

The first shot of a single strawberry placed in the bowl standing upright looks contrived with static composition.

The second shot with the addition of the second strawberry looks slightly better, but still contrived.  The composition is improved by the second off-centre strawberry.

The addition of the third strawberry, has created a triangle within the circle of the bowl, by joining the points created by the green stalks.

As more strawberries are added the image improves.  The addition of another starts to make the bowl look full.  With four strawberries added a trapezium shape is created between the points of the stalks






As more strawberries are added the scene looks less geometric and more natural.

The sixth stawberry was placed outside the bowl, which balances the composition.  If the shot was cropped on the left, this would improve the balance of the image.  Note that I moved the camera slightly here to allow space for the strawberry outside the bowl.

Final image, with one more strawberry added to the top right corner; this counterbalances the stawberry that had been placed outside the bowl.










In the final photograph, which I have cropped to make the composition more dynamic, you can see the balance of the golden section quite clearly; what you can't really see now though are any distinct or clear geometric shapes.