2. MAKE THE MOST OF LINES

Natural or man-made, lines are a powerful aid to every composition

Why exactly? It’s because as well as providing a natural route into and through an image, they can also be used to divide up the picture into different areas.

The most obvious lines are those created by man-made features such as roads, paths, tracks, walls, hedges and avenues of trees. Natural features such as rivers and streams, although not necessarily straight, have the same effect as they wind through a scene into the distance and take your eye on a fascinating journey. Shadows, too, can create strong lines, especially when the sun is low and long shadows rake across the landscape.

Horizontal lines echo the horizon so they’re calm and easy on the eye. Man-made

“Rivers and streams take your eye on a fascinating journey”

boundaries in the landscape, such as walls, fences and hedges, are obvious examples of horizontal lines.

Vertical lines are more active, producing dynamic compositions with a stronger sense of direction. To maximise the effect, shoot in portrait format so the eye has further to travel from the bottom of the frame to the top.

Diagonal lines add depth as they suggest distance and perspective. They also contrast strongly with the horizontal and vertical lines that form the borders of an image and, in doing so, can create tension. The eye tends to scan naturally from bottom left to top right, so diagonal lines travelling in this direction have a greater effect, carrying the eye through an image from the foreground to the background.

Converging lines add a sense of depth. Look down a track and, as distance increases, the parallel sides get closer together until they meet at the ‘vanishing point’. The river or track is roughly the same width along its length, so if it appears to become narrower, it must be moving away from the camera. The effect is best emphasised using a wide-angle lens.