Power of Three

Three is a magic number. Compositions of three objects usually work better than those of two or four. Not sure why, they just do. There are lots of studies that show there is a psychological advantage to three in marketing, writing, and composition. Apparently, it is easier for the human brain to process groups of three. Somewhere I read that it all comes down to the way we humans process information. We are proficient at pattern recognition and three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. Hence, the power of three.

I feel this photo works on many levels; lighting, color, and composition (get it, three!). The composition includes groups of three; clouds, mountain peaks, and reflections. It would probably also work with four mountains or two clouds, but there seems to be something to the power of three. What do you think?

Technical – photo taken with Canon 5D Mark II and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 50mm, 1/8s f/9.0 ISO 100 with CPL and GND.