Video:Photography Composition: Lines

Transcript:Photography Composition: Lines

Hi I'm Chris Davis for About.com.   Lines are a powerful tool that can add impact to your photographs.  Let's look at how to use lines in the composition of your pictures.

What Do Lines Do for Photography?

Lines are a simple element that can create depth, attract attention to a particular area, give the illusion of motion and create a sense of direction.  Lines can found in an image as either leading, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and converging.  Each line impacts the photograph differently.

Leading Lines in Photos

Leading Lines lead your eyes from one part of the picture to another.  They can connect the main subject with a secondary subject, or bring together the foreground and the background.  Roads, fences, a pathway or a shoreline are all potential leading lines.  When using leading lines you will want to position your camera so that the line has an opportunity to move through your image smoothly ultimately taking your viewer to the subject.  An unsuccessful leading line will take your viewer completely out of the image with no subject connection.
Vertical lines can create a variety of different moods, from power and strength to growth.  They can be found in buildings, trees, fence posts and so on.  You can increase the feeling of vertical lines by shooting in the portrait position. This lengthens the vertical subject which can emphasize it’s height.

Horizontal Lines in Photos

Horizontal lines create a feeling of calmness, a person lying in the grass,  the flatness of a lake or the horizon of a sunset.   Keeping the camera in the standard position will accentuate this effect.  However, you could always break this rule and frame your vertical subject horizontally or vice versa which can create some interesting images.

Diagonal Lines in Photos

Diagonal lines give the feeling of motion.  The slope of a mountain, or a runner at the starting line. The unique effect created by diagonal lines can be used with many subjects. The simple image of a car holds a completely different feel by tilting the camera to create a diagonal line.
Converging lines are extremely powerful.  They create a feeling of depth as the lines draw your eyes into the frame. However, you can alter this effect by where you place your camera.  The classic railroad picture, place the converging lines in a position that seem to draw you to an infinite destination.  If the lines start at one side of the frame, the feeling of depth is reduced, but they do draw your attention to a single point.

Experiment with lines by tilting your camera or positioning yourself in a unique spot.   To learn more check us out on the web at About.com.  Thanks for watching.