Most Asked Question 4

Almost all Miksang photos have the rule of thirds or the golden ratio in the composition. How do you choose the composition so that you get these beautiful pictures?

The starting point in Miksang is when we feel a visual resonance, we see something that resonates from the heart, the perception is already complete with the composition already in balance.

This is intuitive, and it contains enormous intelligence.

1. We feel what is and what is not part of perception. With the emphasis on 'feeling'. Feeling out what is and what is not part of visual perception is an intuitive and precise process, and the most important part of practice in Miksang. As we take a picture and it forms an equivalent: the picture shows exactly what we have seen, we develop confidence in knowing that the composition is already there.
2. The composition is already present in the resonance. The composition is already enclosed what is seen. We only need to understand perception fully, as in what is part of what is seen and what is not part. This is closely related to sacred geometry. Sacred geometry is the natural harmony already and always present in all forms and shapes. Both in nature as in everything we see that feels comfortable; it is highly likely that you resonate with something that contains sacred geometry. That is the intelligence of intuition.

The photo rules are the result of the analysis of successful images from the past; of paintings and photographs that are generally highly appreciated. Although the makers have created an image very intuitively, these rules were created by post-analysis and measurements; to get a grip on how something so beautiful can be made. It must have been great to discover this!

But these rules are nothing but an analytical reflection of the sacred geometry that is already contained in the images. Made by artists without the application of all these analytic rules.

Photographer Edward Weston  about composition:

To consult the rules of composition before taking a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk.

Composition is the strongest form of seeing.

That is why we don't need to apply photographic rules in Miksang. We simply relax all this hard work of applying outer rules, as it likely that we will miss out on the resonance in doing so.

As what resonates for you in that moment is already complete, filled with natural composition in itself.