Element of design "Lines"

Lines are top element of design, so important, without lines nothing exist, even us are all defined by lines, very powerful  not only to lead the viewer in a frame but to define shape and tension, it can make your image serene using symmetric horizontal or vertical lines or a dynamic looks and feel using angle diagonal lines.

5D Markiii, f16, 1/2sec, 24mm, ISO 200, HDR, look at all the line the X, his legs, pyjama, all elements of design.

 Lines are very powerful elements  that  add dynamic impact to a photograph , depending where they are located in the frame, at the edge, splitting the frame in half in diagonal, zigzagging, curving, when you think about lines don't only think about straight line,  straight lines are in fact very important, but a good exercise is to look at all lines in your image. One way to see them better is too turn you camera to black and white, if you shoot raw and JPEG you'll get both images, color and B&W,  it's a great way to see the lines, to practice placing them into your frame. Look for patterns that can add to your image.

 Lensbaby soft optic f4, 1/1250sec, ISO 200, diagonal lines

Even you frame itself is created by lines, it's a rectangle, and depending if you shot landscape of portrait that will change the impact of the shot, always try to shoot a scene both ways, and look at the lines, how they impact the result of the image, by example if you shoot the sea and landscape most of the time the horizontal framing will work best and will convey a message of stability, doesn't mean that you have to always shoot landscape horizontally, and you should try to always shoot both ways. Portrait/vertical framing will work very well for trees, building, people, with this framing all the vertical lines can be accentuate and bring strength and power.

 5D Markiii, f9, 1/60sec, ISO 200, 24mm, strong vertical line, triangle, vanishing point, all strong elements of design

Don't forget to brake the rules, try something different cut the frame in half, with horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines, practice different points of view, lead your viewer in and out of the frame, have fun,  if you are using digital you can afford it, the only suggestion if you split the frame or put a line at the edge of the frame, is to put your line as straight as the frame itself.

 5D Markii, f4, 1/160sec, ISO 200, 85mm, vertical lines in horizontal frame

Many studies have been done into how people read the frame, from left to right, it's not only a reading method but a way that movies were and are still done, watch a program on tv, and the camera move from left to right, that's why most people view image from left to right, so a diagonal line starting at the bottom left and moving to the top right of an image can be quite useful and natural, but that doesn't mean that you have to stop there,  try bottom right to top left, go corner to corner, in different directions and intersections.

Have a look at my images, all of them are in black and white, easier to see the lines.

  

Composition following or breaking the rules

Composition “Rule of Thirds".

The idea is to mentally separate the image in the view finder into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This gives you  a total of nine rectangles and 4 main element points.

Using the horizontal lines can improve the placement of the horizon and prevent the image being cut in half.  Deciding which of the tow lines to use depends on the subject. If the sky were the main impact point you would use the lower of the two lines, giving more emphasis to the sky.  On the other hand if the sky is bland and the scene is awash with colors or shapes; put the horizon on the upper line giving more emphasis to the foreground detail.       

f5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO 500, 70mm

 f5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 200, 24mm

 Using the vertical lines; one main point to using them is to avoid placing the subject dead centre, it can be more beneficial visually to place the subject off center on one of the two vertical lines.

Using the intersecting points, any one of these intersections is a good place to position important elements of your photograph. Placing strong elements on one of these four points give a more dynamic balance and helps to create impact.  The horse head is directly on one intersection

point and the frame is well divided in third, same 

for the little angel the frame is well divided and

his and the cat head are close to the intersection 

point, both images are well balance.

 

f10, 1/125sec, ISO 200, 105mm

 f22, 1/20, ISO 100, 28mm, HDR 5 shots combined

I learned that way, and I am used to it. I am always doing it first when doing a composition, it's a second nature, but great or not all rules should be broken to add impact, and tension, for me the best way to improve composition is too practice the rule of third till you get very good at it, and after go out and brake the rule, I put down some example of both, following the rule the horses and angel top images, and broking it, the boats and farm land images, the boats are place very high on the frame, on an angle, anchored by the reflection lines, the lines and angle make this image, same for the farm land image, the angle of the fence the sun of the top left corner the vanishing point close to the edge of the frame all elements of strong impact,not exactly following the rule of third. but still following design rules, I will write a post on design next week.