Vitor Correia Cardoso
Lines are an endearing part of photography. It’s rare to find a photographic composition that does not have lines in them. But have you ever wondered what lines are and how they impact your photography? In this brief discussion on lines, we intend to learn about.
A line is a unidimensional shape that can stretch in either direction and often connects two points. Lines can be straight or curved and can extend in different orientations. That means you can have vertical lines, horizontal lines, and diagonal lines. They all affect a photographic composition in one way or the other. Curved lines, too, can affect a photographic composition.
How exactly?
Vertical lines
Let’s say that you incorporate a vertical line in your composition. There are a ton of elements that you can use to mimic a vertical line. Let’s say you photograph a lonely tree in the middle of nowhere. The tree mimics a vertical line. Again let’s say that there is a cell tower with nothing else in the vicinity. Both these elements mimic a vertical line. A vertical line is a representation of loneliness and isolation. It can also be explained as simplicity, depending on what you aspire to express through the composition.
Diagonal lines
Diagonal lines are often used in photography as leading lines. The phrase leading lines is often used in photography in connection with the compositional rules of photography. The purpose of leading lines is to guide a viewer toward the main subject of the composition.
How do you use diagonal lines in composition?
Diagonal lines are found everywhere in our everyday life. They can be inferred from shadows, beams, roof lines, and much more. They can be lurking in nature, such as the structure of a leaf, or be man-made, such as the way grains are laid out to dry in t the sun. Sometimes, you can convert a horizontal line into a diagonal by tilting your camera left or right of the frame. Diagonal lines can be both a leading line and a way to introduce tension in your images because diagonal lines mimic something that’s not in balance (unlike horizontal and vertical lines).
At times diagonal lines can be inferred without there being a physical line. For example, when several subjects in a photograph look at something beyond the frame, their line of sight can create multiple diagonal lines pointing at something beyond the frame.
Richard
