Lines occur in nature; lines occur in architecture;
lines occur in the human body. Lines ARE everywhere! Using
lines can make or break a photo. Our eyes tend to follow lines in
a picture.
Look at the fluffy feathers on the right side of the
picture that help "point" your eyes to the subject. Look at the way the
vertical lines of the Egret's wing point to it's head. An the
graceful "S" curve of it's neck takes your eyes on a ride from the body
to the head. You don't consciously think of all of these things,
but your eyes are automatically are directed in this way.
Life is 3-dimensional. You take a 3-dimensional scene
and put it on a 2-dimensional piece of paper and you lose more than one
dimension! You lose depth. Lines can help restore depth in a
picture.
Lines can help to pinpoint your subject to the viewer.
Look at the second picture - how the fence and the walk converge
where the lone person is walking. Your eyes automatically
are directed in that direction.
In the third picture, the vertical church steeple conveys an emotion of strength
and power.
Different kinds of lines, just as certain colors, can evoke
different emotions: Horizontal lines can evoke a peaceful emotion.
Vertical lines evoke emotions of authority and respect and
diagonal lines convey movement.
| Type of Line |
Emotion |
Example |
| Horizontal |
Peaceful |
Water |
| Vertical |
Authority |
Architecture |
| Diagonal |
Movement |
River, Fence, etc. |
Make use of lines wherever you can. They help the viewer
"see" your subject. And if the viewer doesn't automatically
know what your subject is, your picture "fails"! |