Photo school. Lesson 4. Working with lines.
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When creating an image composition, I consider lines as an important element.
I distinguish four types of lines: horizontal, vertical, diagonal and convergent. Each of these types of lines has a different effect on the photograph, so when creating a landscape picture, you should look for these types depending on the tasks assigned to them and depending on the landscape picture that you are about to capture.
To acquire the ability to use lines in photos, you need time for practice, since it is not easy. It's easiest to start learning about lines from your old pictures. We need to consider them, looking for lines that are visible and which have played an emotional role in the picture. Also you need to see those lines that have not been used in the composition of the picture, which did not have any influence on it. This is a very good way to practice. After it, leaving the camera on the nature, you will consciously look for lines and use them when building a picture composition. And also ask yourself if the lines form any interesting patterns that you could emphasize to add extra interest to the picture.
The horizontal lines give the picture a sense of "stability" or even "rest." Horizons, fallen trees, oceans, sleeping people - all these things talk about constancy and timelessness or about rest.
Horizons are the most common horizontal line that can be found in photographs, and they often act as a dividing point in the photograph - in fact it is the anchor of the entire composition that organizes all the rest of the image.
If you want to emphasize the soothing, steady effect of the horizon, one of the effective ways to use it is to shoot your images with a horizontal frame. Alternatively, if you want to re-emphasize horizontal lines, use a camera in a vertical frame to shoot it.
Keep in mind that continuous horizons often lead to the fact that the photo seems somewhat static or even boring. Therefore, use other shapes in the landscape that you take to photograph the details of the landscape more convex and attract the viewer's interest to them. It can be mountains, some interesting trees, buildings, etc.
Horizons, as a rule, should not be located in the middle of your frame. This is a bad decision to build a composition. A more effective technique is to place them in the top or bottom third of your frame.
- Using vertical lines
Vertical lines have the ability to transmit a variety of moods to photos, ranging from power (thinking about skyscrapers) to growth (think of trees). Since horizontal lines can be amplified with a snapshot in a horizontal format, vertical lines can be used very effectively, replacing the way the camera is placed in a vertical frame. This lengthens the vertical object, which can emphasize its height.
Another option is to break this rule and place the vertical object horizontally, which will give it the feeling that your image can not hold it whole (it is quite effective if the vertical lines are pronounced).
It is very important to try to keep the vertical lines as far as possible on the sides of your image. This does not always work, especially if you do not see the display of your smartphone, then the object will narrow to the top. However, we must try to make it as straightforward as possible, then everything will turn out perfectly.
Always follow the rule of thirds when you have clearly defined vertical lines in the photo. Placing a line directly in the middle of the snapshot will effectively divide your image in half. This creates a dramatic impact, but can also leave your image in a segmented form.
Watch the vertical lines that are repeated in the templates of your images, as they can be used for more significant impact - especially if they contrast with other shapes and lines going in different directions.
- Using diagonal lines
Diagonal lines create interesting points for the viewer, as they intersect with other lines and often give the depth of the image, offering perspective.
They can also add a sense of action to the image, create dynamics in an external form.
Think about how you can use diagonal lines to lead the eye to the main subject or focal point, point of interest, your photo.
Various studies have been done to find out how people view images. Many of them say that the natural way in viewing an image is to move from left to right, and so the diagonal line starting from the bottom left and moving to the upper right part of the image can be quite useful and felt like a natural line.
Of course, you do not want to divide the image diagonally in the form of a hard line from corner to corner. Look for patterns and curved lines between shapes that can do this in a natural way.
And also, instead of making a line going from the very corner to the opposite corner, it is often convenient to take them out of the center and go to both corners.
Keep in mind that numerous diagonal lines leading in different directions and intersecting with each other can add to your photo a sense of action, but adding too many diagonal lines can make it chaotic and confusing.
Both horizontal and vertical lines, and diagonal lines that repeat through the image, can create very effective templates that can easily become the object of the photo itself. A recent arable field or ridges on the sand dune can be good examples of this, although technically these are probably more "converging lines" (another way of using lines in images)