Photography week two

In the second photography class we studied lines.

There are straight lines, like trees, which are strong and direct.

Straight lines

There are curved lines, like a flower, that seem more relaxed and graceful.

Curvy branches, straight trunk

Horizontal lines give a peaceful, harmonious look.

Straight, horizontal lines

Vertical lines provide power and stability. 

Straight, vertical lines

There are diagonal lines, which seem energetic and provide a sense of depth. Jagged lines convey even more energy.

Jagged, diagonal lines

Lines are often used to lead the eye to the subject--our eyes tend to want to follow lines. These are called leading lines.

Leading lines...wait, there's no subject!

That's better. (Pig from here. Sorry it's kind of blurry.) 

You can also have dividing lines. For example, the horizon in a photo is a dividing line because it splits the sky and the ground into two parts of the picture. But you don't want to have a dividing line down the middle of the picture so if you cut it in half it would be two different pictures--you put it on one of the rule-of-thirds lines.

And, lines can be the subject of a picture. Sometimes the line itself is fascinating, like the petals on a sunflower. Or the line is creating a pattern. 

A dividing line that's also the picture subject

More lines