In the following sections, I explain how to effectively use and position the different types of literal lines, and then I give you further guidance on seeing and including implied lines in your compositions.
Looking at literal lines
The queen is the strongest piece in chess because she can move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, which gives her access to the whole board. A strong photographic composition with lines guides viewers to points of interest in various ways as well.
You can use different types of lines to strengthen an image's message. People subconsciously make associations with lines based on whether they're vertical, horizontal, straight, curvy, diagonal, soft, edgy, or three-dimensional. In order to use lines as a design tool to create great compositions that get a clear message across, you need to understand what each type of line signals to viewers. Start by thinking about the common elements that a particular type of line reminds you of. The upcoming sections give you some examples of what message certain types of lines can portray.
Strong and stady: Vertical tines
The way viewers interpret a vertical line depends on the subject or element in question, but in general a vertical line appears strong, dignified, and sturdy.
Skyscrapers, for example, stand erect in a vertical line and represent height, strength, dignity, formality, and sturdiness. A person who stands with good posture represents those same characteristics; on the other hand, a person who slouches conveys a message of laziness, weakness, or informality.
The pole in Figure 4–3 leans slightly to the right, which keeps it from appearing sturdy. Had the pole been perfectly perpendicular to the ground, it would have seemed more permanent and less rickety.
Calm and expansive: Horizontal tines
Horizontal lines give a sense of calm and repose (like a person napping). They also can represent expansiveness and mass. A building that's wider than it is tall seems anchored, for example. The most common horizontal line, of course, is the horizon, which makes me think of gravity.
Consider your subject matter when determining how it will be represented as a horizontal line. A person lying in a grassy field will seem more relaxed than a person standing in a grassy field. A tabletop provides an area for items to rest, and people standing in a line offer a formal horizontal sequence for you to look at (much like the letters in this sentence). If vertical lines are dignified, horizontal lines are relaxed.
Lively and interesting: Diagonal tines
Diagonal lines can give a sense of energy. When something is in the process of falling over, it's diagonal; a person running is diagonal; and a palm tree blowing in the winds during a Miami hurricane is diagonal. Some may consider diagonal lines to be less formal than vertical and horizontal lines, but in that sense you could say that a diagonal line is more interesting.
Diagonals work well to connect areas within your image; combining them with other types of lines makes for a more dynamic composition as well. You also can achieve three-dimensionality in an image by using diagonal lines. For instance, if you were at the beach and pointing your camera straight out at the horizon, your image would have a horizontal shoreline and horizon and wouldn't offer a three-dimensional sense. If you pointed your camera up or down the shoreline, however, it would become diagonal and would gradually move closer to the horizontal horizon, giving the illusion of distance and depth, or three-dimensionality.
Graceful and depth-producing: Curly lines
Curved lines appear graceful, beautiful, sensual, fun, and organic. The shape of a woman's body, the idea of a winding country road in the mountains, and a river cutting through the forest all are idealized as being curvy. The most sought out type of lines in photography are those that have an S curve. This type of line is named as such because it looks like an S — it curves out to one direction and then comes back in the other.
Curvy lines (particularly S curves) can add a great deal of interest to your compositions. Use them to create graceful and sexy compositions or to add depth to an image. Like diagonal lines, curvy lines can stretch into the distance toward a vanishing point. Figure 4–4 shows you how curvy lines work to draw your eyes to where the dirt road gets lost in the mountains.
24mm, 1/50 sec, f/5, 50
Figure 4–4: Curvy lines can be used to give a sense of depth.
Tracking implied lines
Certain recognizable actions or ideas in an image can create invisible lines. These are referred to as implied lines because you can't see them but you follow them anyway.
If a human subject in an image is looking at a specific area in the scene, for example, viewers look at that area to see what the subject is looking at. Compositionally speaking, a subject's line of sight can work as an invisible line to guide your eyes to another area of the image. You can combine implied lines with literal lines for even more dynamics in a composition. And keep in mind that implied lines can carry the same qualities as literal lines with regard to being horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and curvy.
Figure 4–5 represents an image with
implied lines. The eye contact that
the woman is making with herself in 50mm'/30secV2.5,400
the mirror helps keep viewers looking Figure 4–5: Line of sight being used as an
back and forth between her and her implied compositional line.
reflection.
Motion is another type of implied line. You follow the direction in which a subject is moving as if to see where it's going. And if two points of interest are lined up with each other across the frame and nothing but negative space stands between them, you most likely cut across the image in a straight line from one to the other, creating an implied line. These are good techniques to use when a scene doesn't provide any useful lines in the literal sense.
Bringing More to the Mix with Shape and form
When lines connect to seal off a specific area in a composition, they create shapes and forms. One line that goes around in a loop creates a circle, and three lines that intersect create a triangle. Refer to Figure 4–3, for instance, and notice the following combinations of lines that create different shapes:
The lines that make up the road form a triangle as they move into the distance.
The horizon line combined with the frame's edges and the area where the brush meets the road outline diamond shapes.
The trees make triangles, and so do the wires.
The sky takes on a similar shape to the diamonds in the foreground created by the brush.
Shapes and forms work together with lines to say even more about a particular scene. Understanding what shapes and forms convey in your message and being able to differentiate the two is necessary to create beautiful and descriptive compositions.
In the following sections, I explain the differences between shape and form and show you how to highlight each in your compositions.
Distinguishing between shape and form
In photographic composition, shape and form are related but separate. Elements can have similar shapes but different forms. The shape of a racquetball is similar to that of an orange, for example, but the two are very different in form. The racquetball is perfectly spherical, while the orange has natural flaws in its shape. Also, the texture of an orange is rougher than that of a racquetball. You would approach each differently in terms of composition based on what you wanted to reveal about them.