Assignment #13 - Lines

Assignment #13 - Lines

Lines

Most photos have lines of some sort running through them.

Straight lines (like the horizon) stretch across from one side of the image to the other. Horizontal lines can create a peaceful feeling, whereas diagonal lines are exciting and dynamic. Vertical lines fall somewhere in-between.

Curved lines are a little more relaxed and meander through the image rather than moving directly across it. You’ll often see a mixture of curved lines and straight lines in landscape photos, where a gentle curve through the foreground and the horizon line work together to create a peaceful landscape photo.

http://digital-photography-school.com/five-ways-improve-eye-composition/

Leading Lines

A leading line paves an easy path for the eye to follow through different elements of a photo. Usually they start at the bottom of the frame and guide the eye upwards and inwards, from the foreground of the image to the background, typically leading toward the main subject.

The easiest place to find a leading line is on a road. Roadways are inherently leading because they go somewhere, give us a feeling of motion, and the lines often point so far inwards that they reach a vanishing point – the place where two or more lines converge into theoretical infinity.

When leading lines, such as roads, connect the foreground to the background of a scene, they help to create depth and dimensionality which draws the viewer into the image.

Leading lines are all around us in cities and in nature. Your job as the photographer is to find them and arrange them in your photograph so that they lead towards something, even if that something is infinity.

Pay special attention to man-made things such as:   roads, fences, bridges, bricks, anything in a row such as lamp posts, buildings, doorways, and window panes.

In nature, pay particular attention to:  trees, tall grass, rivers, rocks, sand dunes.
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-leading-lines-for-better-compositions/