essential skills: digital photography in available light
Line
The use of line is a major design tool that the photographer can use to structure the image. Line
becomes apparent when the contrast between light and dark, color, texture or shape serves to
defi ne an edge. The eye will instinctively follow a line. Line in a photograph can be described by
its length and angle in relation to the frame (itself constructed from lines).
Horizontal and vertical lines
Horizontal lines are easily read as we scan images from left to right comfortably. The horizon
line is often the most dominant line within the photographic image. Horizontal lines within the
image give the viewer a feeling of calm, stability and weight. The photographer must usually be
careful to align a strong horizontal line with the edge of the frame. A sloping horizon line is usually
immediately detectable by the viewer and the feeling of stability is lost.
Vertical lines can express strength and power. This attribute is again dependent on careful
alignment with the edge of the frame. This strength is lost when the camera is tilted to accommodate
information above or below eye level. The action of perspective causes parallel vertical lines to
lean inwards as they recede into the distance.
Suggested and broken line
Line can be designed to fl ow through
an image. Once the eye is moving it
will pick up a direction of travel and
move between points of interest.
The photograph to the right is a good
example of how the eye can move
through an image. Viewers of this
image will be guided towards the distant
hills on the right side of the image. The
lines created by the dry stone wall and
the converging lines created by the
ridges of the hills all serve to guide the
viewer in this direction. A photographer
can strategically frame an image and
position the lines within the frame to aid
this process (note the dry stone wall
entering the image from the bottom
left-hand corner). The use of simple
and uncluttered backgrounds (without
distracting detail) can also help to
isolate focal points that use line as an
important part of the design.
Mark Galer