Working with the Lines in your Photography

Last week we spoke about converging lines and how they can add depth to your images, lets expand on that and look at what the elements of lines do to add impact to your image.

Lines that can be found in images are a powerful component and with patience and practice can change the mood of your image, and depending how the lines run, lead the viewer of your image deep into the photo.

It will take some time and practice to learn how to effectively add lines to your image.  A good way to practice this is go back through some of your past shots and examine what worked well and the shots that did not look so good.  Soon you will see how lines impact your image.  By the way these lines can me natural or man made.

Take a look at the image below, this was shot by Albert Mok on our Sedona Photo Tour in Antelope Canyon.  This is a perfect example of the use of lines to draw the viewer into the image.

The next time you are shooting, before you line up your image in the frame ask yourself what lines are going to be in the shot and how you might use them to add something to your image?

Don’t forget to look around for lines from patterns that might enhance your image, one such example would be how the rows of crops in a field form lines, and can you work this into your image.  This might not be the focal point of your image but it just might be worked in to add an interesting layer.

I would love to see you post some of your examples of lines.  Have fun, Doug Burdick - Stan C. Reade Photo