How to use line structure in photography

Lead: In the process of photography, the most important thing is the composition of the photo. If the composition is good, the whole photo will be improved instantly. So how to make a composition in photography and how to make a composition with lines? Let me take you to learn.

How to compose a composition with lines in photography will affect the composition in two ways. First of all, lines help to create emotions and add emotional content to photos. Second, lines can guide the audience's line of sight and focus their attention on the picture. When dealing with lines, there are several ways: horizontal line, vertical line, diagonal line, sawtooth line and irregular line.

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Emotion: horizontal line

Horizontal lines can create a balanced mood (lack of change). This line is usually used to express the feeling that a painting, or a part of a painting, was frozen at that moment. When a photographer wants to express an eternal feeling, he can use a horizontal line. In addition, the horizontal line can also be contrasted with the dynamic picture part. Examples can be found in buildings, skylines and falling objects.

Emotion: vertical line

Vertical lines can inject stability and calm into the picture. When creating a sense of stability, vertical lines are similar to horizontal lines, conveying a sense of texture and eternity. Examples can be found in stone piles, telephone poles and buildings.

The works of Ron Bigelow

Making good use of vertical lines can also produce a sense of tranquility. For example, trees in foggy forests and ancient fences on grasslands are all similar examples.

Emotion: diagonal

Slant lines can convey movement and make photos more dramatic. Therefore, diagonal is a powerful tool. This power lies in its ability to catch the attention of the audience. The audience's line of sight will involuntarily move along the diagonal. Slant lines can be not only entities such as streets and walls, but also colors. For example, in photos of flowers, diagonal lines of colors can add drama to the photos. Examples of diagonal lines are endless: roads, rivers, waves and branches.

The works of Ron Bigelow

Emotion: sawtooth lines and irregular lines

Using zigzag lines and irregular lines, our ability to express emotions and feelings is through going up a flight of stairs. Diagonal lines give us a sense of movement, while zigzag lines and irregular lines make us feel uneasy, nervous or afraid. Excessive use of zigzag lines and irregular lines will bring negative feelings to the audience (or it may be deliberately done by photographers). So this is a tool that photographers use when they want to create worries and anxieties for the audience. Tree roots, crocodile teeth, bare peaks and twisted metal remains are all examples.

Guide the line of sight

Lines are very powerful in creating emotions and even more powerful in guiding the audience's sight. When using such lines, you should follow two rules. First, make sure that the lines always point to the most important theme in the picture. Because let the audience directly notice. Second, make sure the lines don't point out of the picture. The lines outside the painting will take the audience's attention away from the photo. This will weaken the impact of the picture and even make the audience lose interest in the photo.