Following the Lines
Lines in a picture are used to draw the viewer to the subject or to create specific feelings and moods. Lines can be as concrete as a footpath across a lawn. Lines can also be created by allowing the viewer to visually interpret and connect a repeating pattern in the image, like looking down a row of chess pieces.
Remember that body parts also form lines. Arms akimbo are compositional diagonals. Arms hanging down create vertical lines. A subject standing with feet together creates a single vertical block, while a figure standing with feet far apart creates two diagonal lines.
FIGURE 12-1 Although the gull is almost centered in the shot, it is a little off center and the horizontal and vertical lines create enough visual interest to keep the shot from being too static.
Lines can convey mood and meaning literally. Static lines are straight lines placed either horizontally or vertically in a picture. They denote stability, lack of change, and lack of movement.
Horizontal lines suggest peace and calm. Vertical lines suggest elegance, strength, and majesty. Photos of architecture with strong and long vertical lines, such as the Gothic cathedrals of the sixteenth century, suggest a connection with heaven above. When viewed from the ground, the parallel lines converge, implying that being in or near the church moves you upward toward heaven.
If you photograph a square or rectangular building straight on, keeping the vertical lines parallel will create a picture composed mainly of vertical and horizontal lines. It is static, impressive, and has no movement. It tells the viewer that there is no change happening, that this building has been there a long time and will probably remain there a lot longer, which is often exactly what the picture is meant to suggest.
Straight lines become less static when they converge. Forcing the perspective by tilting your camera makes the lines come together and gives your picture movement and depth. Changing your shooting angle can also make horizontal lines converge to convey perspective and depth.
Dynamic lines move on the diagonal and suggest motion and energy, as in the picture of the rowboat in the color insert. They also suggest tension and distance (think of diverging parallel lines that show perspective). They may appear naturally in a picture, or you can create them yourself by changing camera angles. Shadows can form diagonal lines, which you can use to show relationships and draw the viewer into the picture. They also occur when you place subjects on two diagonal power points in a frame.
Curved lines are graceful and often restful lines. They lead the eye into the picture gently and smoothly. If you want to show an infant at rest and being nurtured, photograph the baby in the parent's curved arms, a very natural position and composition.
“S” curves are probably the most visually pleasing elements you can capture in a picture. Keep your eye out for these classic “S” curves:
Roads. Highways and byways often create “S” curves as they meander through landscape shots. An “S” curve in a road viewed at a distance from a hill is a photograph waiting to be captured.
Bird necks. The curve of a bird's long neck is a good example of an “S” curve eager to be photographed.
Farm fields. Furrowed fields, rows of corn, acres of sunflowers — there are “S” curves to be found here as well.
Streams and rivers. Waterways often form natural curves. If they're slight, you can try emphasizing them by using a telephoto lens, which will compress the distance between the curves.
An “S” curve is strongest when elongated and perhaps tilted, producing a diagonal line that has two curves in it, such as the view of the edge of a nicely shaped swimming pool as seen from one end.
If you are fortunate enough to find an “S” curve to photograph, put your subject where the curve leads the eye, not in the middle of the curve itself. It is much more interesting compositionally.
Lines can also be created when the viewer visually draws them between points in a picture. When the lines connect, they create geometric shapes and relationships that can also affect a picture's composition. The photographer's favorite is a triangle. A compositional rule called the golden triangle results in good pictures. It's generally used to compose portraits, although it can work equally well when photographing either groups of people or objects.
Let's say you're taking a picture of three people. Elevating the middle person forms a triangle. This is good. But what if, instead, you were to elevate one person on the end? Does this create a triangle? Not really. It makes a bent line or an “L,” which are generally not visually pleasing shapes.
Now imagine photographing four people. If you put them in a straight row, you'll create a very static composition. If you raise the first and third person you create something that looks a lot like two connected triangles or even a flattened “S” curve, which are generally perceived as pleasing arrangements.
When you photograph groups of objects, look for imaginary lines to connect them into triangles — not right angles, vertical lines, horizontal lines, or a jumble of shapes. One easy-to-remember rule for arranging groups is to never position two heads at the same level.
Avoid stacking people in front of and behind each other when you're taking group shots. The totem pole effect of this arrangement creates an unpleasing vertical line. You can improve it by creating a triangle — one person in front, two behind, and so on.
A leading line is a very powerful compositional element that leads the viewer's eyes into the picture and to the subject. It can be a structural line, such as a wide staircase, or something more bucolic, such as a plowed field. Strong shadows can also create leading lines.
A good way to envision the power of leading lines is to analyze their opposite. Visualize a person standing in front of the camera, arms at his sides. The vertical lines of the arms lead your eye down, out of the picture. Vertical lines that drop down from a subject and lead to the bottom of the frame draw a viewer out of the image, literally and figuratively draining the energy out of your picture.
Place your subject at the end of a leading line for the greatest visual impact. Avoid putting your subject in the middle of the line — this bisects the line and diminishes its strength and impact.
