Elements of Composition - #3 - Lines

This is probably one of the most impactful elements that can be incorporated into any image since lines can dramatically help direct and focus the attention of the audience on your subject or it can do the opposite - which is bad.

There are two general "families" of lines - Static and Dynamic.

Static Lines are horizontal or vertical parallel lines and they are kind of boring.  They imply steadiness, stillness, and consistency.  So if you incorporate them into the scene you are either trying to reinforce this narrative or you are contrasting it with the subject.  On the other hand, Dynamic Lines are cutting across the image at an angle and unlike Static lines, they emphasis movement and change.

Below is an example of Static Lines which is contrasted by the subject - which it self forms a dynamic line.

Now in the image below, I take the same picture and highlighted the static vertical lines in red and the dynamic line of the subject in blue.  Having this contrast of the subject at an angle to the static vertical lines helps to make the image a little more interesting.



Within the family of Dynamic Lines is a special type called Converging Lines.  As the name implies, converging lines are two or more lines that are coming together and will eventually meet at some point - this point may be out of the frame but that is irrelevant.  The reason they are special is because it's human nature for your eye to follow converging lines to see where they meet.  Which is great because it means you can direct your audience to your subject by placing your subject appropriately. See the example below - first without the lines highlighted and then with them highlighted (you may need to enlarge the picture to get the full effect).

In the images above, it may not be initially clear what or where the photographer wants the subject's eyes to go, but with all these converging lines your eye follows them to the figure silhouetted on the train platform.

This is why taking pictures of train tracks are so appealing because you eye naturally wants to follow the rails of the track.  Now, the mistake that most novice photographers make is that the tracks themselves aren't necessarily that interesting - you need a subject to help tell a story.  So when you have converging lines you should have someone or something there to look at.  Heck, you took the trouble to direct the audience's eye there now show them something!

In the examples I have shown so far there are some pretty strong lines - actual physical lines.  Sometimes they are implied and are more subtle.  Here is a picture with a mix of some strong lines and some implied lines from nature.

The dock is similar to the railroad tracks I mentioned and makes a strong set of converging lines, but maybe not as obvious is that the landscape also forms to converging lines. All of which point to the subject.

Here is my next best example of implies lines - this isn't as good of an example as I would like to demonstrate but off the top of my head its the best one I could think of and find. There are some clear lines in this photo, but the one I want to illustrate is the implied line of the stacks that I highlight in the second image below.

The reason I took this photo is because the line of the stacks parallels the contrail line created by the plane.  It was one of those shots where I was stepping out of the car, looked up, saw it and only had a few seconds to move into position, compose and shoot.

Now that you have a few examples under your belt, take a look at the images below and try and see how the lines make the images.  One is very clear and one is probably a little more subtle. I numbered them so I can reference them below.

# 1

# 2

#1 - The lines here are very clear and bold.  It contrasts something that is typically very static - a bridge - and makes it look dynamic with all the crazy converging lines and angles. They all converge to some spot - not necessarily the subject, the bridge is the subject - but to a point on the bridge that is in the rule of thirds. 

#2 - This is a bit more subtle, but the Static Lines should be pretty clear.  Horizontal lines of the benches, and the sleeping subject in the upper left (in the rule of thirds), is balanced and contrasted by the older couple in the lower right - who are looking off frame - heads tilted upward (which implies a dynamic line) at something. 


A word of caution - converging lines are great, but if they converge away from your subject, or out of the frame - then your audience will start to get distracted.  They won't know what to look at, and even though they don't know why, they will find the image hard to look at.  I'll discuss this in greater detail at the end of this series when I explain a technique to help you evaluate composition.  So stay tuned!

Here are links to the previous Posts in this series:

To see #1 - Rule of Thirds - Go HERE

To see #2 - Balance - Go HERE

To see #4 - Framing - Go HERE

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Elements of Composition - #2 - Balance

Taken at the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. The Arabic sign is balancing the portrait of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

Now, unlike the Rule of 3rds, from here on out the elements of composition aren't necessary components of an image so you don't need to include them for the photo to be successful but they are available to help you tell the story. I want to stress that you don’t get extra brownie points for including as many elements of composition as you can. You just need to include those elements that are available and necessary to convey to your audience what you are trying to say. 

At the end of this series of posts I will discuss a method of critically evaluating composition - at least of other people - and this will in turn make you better at composing your own photos. 

Balance is kind of a subtle element but when used properly can really help you tell the story in your photo.  Now, as discussed in the previous post, you should be placing the subject off-center into the Rule of 3rds but that can leave a lot of open space in the photo opposite the main subject.  Sometimes that is filled with the background but sometimes you can use that to help give the photo context.  So you have a main subject that is the focal point of the image, but you may have a secondary subject that isn’t competing for the attention of the audience but is positioned opposite the main subject and helps provide context and balance out the elements on within the photo. 

For instance, the image below is moody dark portrait of some random person. As in most portraits, the face is the subject, and you can see it is in the Rule of 3rds. However, you have no context of this image or what’s happening or anything. So maybe you might think this photo is fine as is, but kind of weird. 



Below I have uncropped the image so you can see it in its entirety and the face is still in the Rule of 3rds but now there is the head of a bass guitar that is providing not only context but also balances the image. It fills the space that could otherwise be just a black void with something that adds to the image.  

This isn't something that needs to be incorporated into every photo you take, but its something to keep in mind when shooting. 

Now you should go out and try it!  Your practice photos don't have to be award winning - this is the digital era and the cost of taking a photo is negligible. Back in the days of film it actually cost you money to take a picture but not now!  Share some of your photos in the comments below!  If you have any questions feel free to ask, Ill try and get to them when I can. 

Here are a few more examples that might help you understand what Balance is.

The statue is the main subject, and the plane balances the image.

In this photo I'm interested in the wind turbine, so it could be telling the story of wind turbines near a farm, or it could be conveying the story of a farm near a wind turbine since both could be the main subject.

Here the Milk Way is the main subject and the farm silos help give you scale and tell a story. 

Next week (week of 11/23/15 - Thanksgiving) I'll cover Lines - a hugely important element in composition so stay tuned!

If you are enjoying this series please Follow this blog and share with anyone who you think might benefit.  Any questions or comments please leave them below and I will try and get to them as soon as I can.

Thank you!

Links to other articles in this series:

To see #1 - Rule of Thirds - Go HERE

To see #3 - Lines - Go HERE

To see #4 - Framing - Go HERE

Elements of Composition - #1 - Rule of Thirds

In photography to make amazing photos, you need three things (not necessarily in this order)

1. Interesting Subject
2. Good Exposure
3. Great Composition

In this series I want to break down composition to its individual elements and walk through them one by one.  The nice thing about composition is its pretty universal through all forms of 2D art.  If you have a background in paining, drawing, etc that will make you a better photographer because, whether you realize it or not, you have at least some sense of composition.

Now I suppose I should define Composition - its the arrangement of elements within an image that help tell the story or invoke a reaction.

I should also define one other term right now since I will be using it frequently in this post as well as others to come and it is the term subject: the main focus of an image.  For instance, if you are doing portraiture it would be the person.  If you are taking a picture of a bridge, its the bridge.

Here is the list I will be covering over the next few weeks.

1. Rule of 3rds
2. Balance
3. Lines
4. Framing
5. Point of View
6. Direction of Movement
7. Pattern
8. Texture

Now a good photo may have one or all of these but more isn't always better! Don't try and force more elements into the image.  It still, to some degree, needs to feel organic and not completely artificial.

Right now I want to cover Rule of 3rds.

This is the most important one of the bunch for various reasons - you should either be using it in every photo you take or not using it for a specific reason.  There is no gray area.

By definition the rule of 3rds say that if you were to cut the frame into thirds both vertically and horizontally, the subject will be positioned at the intersection of those cuts.  To demonstrate I have one of my images and red line representing 1/3 increments from the top and the sides.  Where they intersect has been circled.

Now in this case the main subject is a bridge and you can see it sits right in the cross-hairs of the upper left intersection.  Now I want to stress that is not important for your subject to be EXACTLY in the intersection of the Rule of 3rds - they should simply be off center. If you don't believe me, look at Mr. daVinci's painting below - you may recognize it even if I drew all sorts of lines all over it. For portraiture the eyes are the main focal point so you should be concerned where they are arranged within the image. In the painting below you can see Mona Lisa's eyes are not in the horizontal center and only slightly off from the vertical center-line (not shown).  The green lines represent the technical Rule of 3rds lines and the red cross is the center of the image (approximately).  

Basically, the rule is that the subject should NEVER be in the center of the image.  Except that rules are meant to be broken and there are times when you should put the subject directly in the center of the image.  Those instances are not generally common but if you want to convey a sense of loneliness or isolation then frame the subject in the dead center. I don't have to many examples so the image below is probably my best, but I wouldn't say its great in that I have seen better. This is part of a longer time lapse series which I think is more interesting than just the individual still.

Taken with a Nikon D80 converted to Infrared with a Pro-Optic 8mm lens.

Please stay tuned for the next in the series which I hope to have posted late next week since I will be out of town this weekend (hopefully getting some more Milky Way photos and shooting more videos).

If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments below and if you want to see more please subscribe or look for my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CapturedPhotons

Videos on Infrared Photography can be seen here: https://youtu.be/CMSd2mUAsys

Links to more articles in this series:

To see #2 - Balance - Go HERE

To see #3 - Lines - Go HERE

To see #4 - Framing - Go HERE