Composition: Line

Lines guide our eyes through a photograph and can help shape the feeling of the image. For instance, your eyes follow the curve of this tendril along its path to the center, conveniently located in the top left-ish third of the image:


We attach meanings to certain types of lines. For instance, horizontal lines--horizons in particular--create a feeling of stability:


while vertical lines create a feeling of strength, power, or growth:




Vertical lines can be tough to photograph. You'll notice in most of my examples above, the lines aren't completely parallel to the edges of the photograph. It's pretty much unpreventable when taking pictures of tall things, so just be aware of it and try to keep the vertical lines parallel to one edge or the other, or pointing in the direction of a focal point in the image.

Diagonal lines can be either positive (extending from bottom left to top right) or negative (extending from bottom right to top left). This one has both (which is common):


In this image, two positive lines intersect a negative line formed by the right hand side of the wall. Although positive lines dominate the image, the fact that they are all diagonal gives the picture a feeling of being off-balance--very appropriate for the Museum of the Holocaust.


Here, a negative line, formed from the line of the wing to the arm of the statue, lends the picture a melancholy feel:


Here's the assignment: focus on using lines effectively in your pictures over the next two weeks (there won't be a new assignment next week due to thanksgiving). Try to take pictures of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines. Decide if you like positive or negative diagonal lines better (at least this week). Again, as you watch TV, pay attention to the images, particularly how they use lines to draw your eyes to the focal point of the image.

Good luck, and post at least three images in the next two weeks.

Commenting

Alright, I'm not the best about this either (obviously) but we all need to comment on one another's work. So, this week I want everyone to make a critical comment on everyone else's post. By critical I mean a comment that analyzes the image in some way, not one that says your picture is terrible. For example, (and as a segue into the next lesson) the curving line of the road heading off to the right really gives the image a feeling of going somewhere, which I think makes it a stronger picture. In comments, be polite, but honest--we're all looking to improve, not just be told how wonderful we are already.

Thanks!

Rule of thirds: Kristine

I apologize--it's been a rather busy couple of weeks. Here are my submissions for rule of thirds:


This one only follows the rule of thirds in that approximately the bottom 2/3 of the image are taken up by cake.



In these two, my daughter is pretty clearly in the top right 1/3 position. I particularly love the action and the expression of joy on her face in these.

Somewhat by way of explanation, my brother in law got married yesterday and I've been madly getting things done so I could leave for the weekend. Here are a few pictures I took at the wedding:

Rule of Thirds- Sarah

Okay, does anyone else find it VERY hard to take pictures when it's so gray and rainy all the time? The lighting in my house isn't great, so I kind of bank on good sunlight, and when we don't have much of that, I don't take many pictures (not to mention that we have even less hours of sunlight to start with!). So, as a result, I didn't take a ton of pictures this week. Here is one of the cute kids in my kids preschool class on our trip to the Fire Station (I did take pictures of my own kids, but the didn't turn out that great in terms of the 'rule of thirds').Although he is towards the center of the picture, there is enough negative space to the right that is used to give context to the picture.

And here are a couple other pictures that I took in late August that I thought followed the rule of thirds.Here his hand, while some what centered, takes up about 2/3's of the picture.

p.s. I promise to take current pictures for the next challenge!

Rule of Thirds. Elly.

I have never taken a photography class, so this is the first I've heard of the rule of thirds but it makes perfect sense. It has been nice to focus on the composition of my photos this week. This was a picture I took the day before we got the assignment. I felt that it followed the rule of thirds in that the subject fell along the left line, however, the subject does not occupy 1/3 of the picture.

I felt that by cropping it in closer and getting rid of some of the extra space (and lighting it up a bit...I cheated), the subject is more prominent and the photograph more interesting.

This is a photo I took after we were given the assignment, and I think by placing the subjects where the lines meet in the lower right, it makes the subject as well as the background more interesting visually.

I am new to this concept, so any feedback or suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks.

Rule of Thirds- Stephanie

Thanks for the tutorial of the Rule of Thirds, it has helped(tremendously)with my pictures. Before last week, I took photos like a novice, just aim and click. I like to compare my abilities to a term used in basketball: Prayer shot--a shot that has an extremely low chance of going in, usually a full court or half court shot. That is how I take pictures, not knowing the basic fundamentals and just hoping to get that "good shot". Sometimes I get lucky and score the Kodak moment, but I am hoping from this blog I can be more consistent.

I took a good number of pictures last week. The picture that I posted was my favorite. It may not be the best picture, but the bike rider, bike, and part of the road all fall on the left 1/3 segment of the picture. And the subject (the biker) is 1/3 compare to the 2/3 of space.

Rule of 3rds- Heather

This was one of the few pictures I took this week. The focus begins in the bottom right quadrant and ends in the top left quadrant. (If we are drawing lines on this photo to follow the rule of thirds) Hope it works.
This is actually a photo I took a few weeks ago because I was bad this week and hardly took any photos. I wanted to bring out the tree and the fence in this photo. Again the fence draws your eyes through the photo with the focal point being the tree in the top left quadrant.