Sacred geometry · Frame it yourself
Golden Ratio Lens
Load a photo and lay a golden spiral, a phi grid or a golden crop box over it, then drag and resize the overlay until it fits your picture. Switch on the rule of thirds to see how the two grids differ. Your photo never leaves your device: it is drawn right here in your browser and nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Drop a photo here · it stays on this device
Overlays
Lines
How it works
The golden spiral and the phi grid
Both overlays come from the golden rectangle, a rectangle whose sides are in the ratio 1 to φ, where φ = (1 + √5) ÷ 2 = 1.618... Cut a square off one end and what is left is another, smaller golden rectangle. Keep cutting and the squares wind inward forever.
The golden spiral is the curve through those squares. Draw a quarter circle in each square and they join into one smooth spiral that closes in on a single point, the eye of the spiral. This is how most overlays draw it. A true golden spiral grows by exactly φ every quarter turn, so by φ⁴ = 6.854 every full turn; the quarter circles are the usual stand-in for it. The two are compared on the golden spiral page. Press Rotate to turn the spiral through its four positions and Mirror to flip it, so the eye can sit in any corner of your picture.
The phi grid is the same idea as straight lines. It cuts the frame at 0.382 and 0.618 of the way across and down, because 1 ÷ φ = 0.618 and 1 ÷ φ² = 0.382, and 0.382 + 0.618 = 1. Each line divides the frame in the golden ratio, and the four crossings are where the grid suggests you put the subject.
The golden crop shows the largest golden rectangle that fits your overlay box and darkens the rest, so you can see what the picture would look like trimmed to 1 to 1.618.
Compare
Phi grid vs rule of thirds
The two grids look alike, but the phi grid sits closer to the middle. The rule of thirds puts its lines at 0.333 and 0.667 of the frame; the phi grid puts them at 0.382 and 0.618. The difference is 0.382 − 0.333 = 0.049, just under 5% of the frame.
In pixels that is easy to see. On a photo 4,000 pixels wide, the left third line is at 1,333 pixels and the left phi line at 1,528, about 195 pixels apart. The middle strip between the two lines is 0.333 of the frame for thirds and 0.236 for phi, so the phi grid gives a narrower centre.
Turn both on to compare. The rule of thirds is drawn dashed. Neither grid is the right answer for every picture; they are two rules of thumb for placing the subject off centre.
A guide, not a law
What the overlay can and cannot show
An overlay is a composition guide, not proof that a picture uses the golden ratio. A spiral or grid can be moved and resized until it touches something in almost any image, which is exactly what this tool lets you do.
Researchers who checked famous claims found many overlays were fitted after the fact. The mathematician George Markowsky wrote in 1992 that much of what is said about the golden ratio “in art, architecture, literature, and esthetics is false or seriously misleading.” He called searching many measurements until one lands near 1.618 “the Pyramidology Fallacy.” On the Mona Lisa, Mario Livio wrote that no documentation shows Leonardo used it, “nor to where precisely the rectangle should be drawn.”
Use it the honest way: as a starting point while you frame or crop. The measured cases, from the Parthenon to Dalí, are on the golden ratio in art and architecture page.
Privacy
Your photo never leaves your device
Nothing is uploaded. When you load or drop a photo, your browser opens the file and draws it into the page. The tool has no code that sends the photo anywhere, and there is no server step: the downloaded PNG, the share image and the 4K wallpaper are all made by your own browser.
Links carry the overlay, not the picture. Copy link saves the overlay settings (which lines, position, size, colour) in the address, never the photo. Reload the page and the photo is gone unless you load it again.
Questions
Golden ratio overlays
How do I put a golden ratio overlay on a photo?
Press Load a photo or drop a picture onto the frame, pick Golden spiral, Phi grid or Golden crop, then drag the overlay and use the size slider until it fits. Press Download PNG to save the photo with the overlay on it.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The photo is opened and drawn by your own browser and never sent to any server. The downloaded PNG and share images are made on your device, and copied links hold only the overlay settings.
What is the difference between the phi grid and the rule of thirds?
The phi grid puts its lines at 0.382 and 0.618 of the frame; the rule of thirds at 0.333 and 0.667. The phi lines sit about 5% of the frame closer to the centre, leaving a narrower middle strip.
What is a golden spiral overlay?
A spiral drawn through the squares of a golden rectangle, one quarter circle per square, that winds into a single point. Photographers line the eye of the spiral up with the subject. A true golden spiral grows by φ, 1.618, every quarter turn.
Does the golden ratio make photos better?
Not by itself. It is one composition rule among several, and studies of golden rectangle preference have mostly found no special pull: in George Markowsky’s informal tests the favourite rectangle was 1.83, not 1.618.
Can I use Golden Ratio Lens on my site?
Yes, free. Copy the embed code at the bottom of this page. Visitors’ photos stay on their own devices in the embedded tool too.
Sources
Where this comes from
- Eric W. Weisstein, “Golden Ratio,” MathWorld: mathworld.wolfram.com.
- Eric W. Weisstein, “Golden Rectangle,” MathWorld: mathworld.wolfram.com.
- George Markowsky, “Misconceptions about the Golden Ratio,” The College Mathematics Journal 23(1), 1992, pp. 2 to 19: umcs.maine.edu.
- Mario Livio, “The golden ratio and aesthetics,” Plus Magazine, University of Cambridge, 2002: plus.maths.org.
- Ivars Peterson, “Sea Shell Spirals,” Science News, 2005, on how fast a golden spiral grows: sciencenews.org.
Share
An image of your photo with the overlay, made on your device. Copy link reopens the same overlay (never the photo).
Poster
Your framed picture, printed large.
Put this tool on your site
Embed Golden Ratio Lens
Photographers, teachers and bloggers can drop the tool into any page. Paste this code where you want it to appear. Photos loaded into the embedded tool stay on the visitor’s device too.