First off….a pleasing aquascape is in the eye of the beholder. There really should be no rules to follow except whether or not that you like it. Aquascape for yourself….not others or instagram.
That said…..yes….rule of thirds, golden ratios and color coordination do help in creating a pleasing composition. There’s a reason why your phone camera has a grid. It’s to help in composing a photo that is pleasing to the human eye according to the rule of thirds. Leaving about half of the display open….also improves the overall appearance to the human eye. Of course that takes great restraint when you want to add more and more. As the old proverb goes….less is more in the end.
Color coordination can also help your corals to show their best colors. Put a red coral next to an orange coral….and both look less impressive. Place a blue coral next to an orange coral and both pop. There is a reason why I always have a clean, coralline free back panel….the black panel compliments and not competes with the corals. Coral vendors usually photograph their corals against a black background for a reason….the corals look their best.
When I aquascape, I usually start with a concept. In my current iteration, I wanted to do something different by creating more vertical structures that could have the potential to create a variety of micro environments from the varied light and flow that a vertical aquascape could provide. In a way, it’s something similar in concept to the earlier posted aquascape photos of that 1000 gal tank. I never really like that tank…..not my thing. Too much exposed equipment and equally placed vertical structures that were similar in height and width. This created an unnatural design to my eye. He should have varied the height, width and spacing of those structures…..and maybe join them at the base to prevent a “placed” look. Just my option though. To each his own.
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about this hobby.. Idk that poster realizes this ..
