Nature Photography Tips 16
So far, in our nature photography tips series, we’ve covered the Rule of Thirds, and all 14 basic lines and shapes commonly used in photo composition. I’ve enjoyed putting this together, and hope it’s been useful to you as well. Here’s a summary all 14 photo composition lines and shapes, with the basic concepts they tend to portray in nature photography.
1. Horizontal lines – freedom and open expanses
2. Vertical lines – strength and power
3. Diagonal lines – excitement and motion
4. Single Diagonal line – dramatic contrast
5. Radiated lines – dramatic force and freedom
6. Curved lines – grace, beauty and dignity
7. Upright Triangles – solid strength and stability
8. Inverted Triangles – tension, instability and freedom
9. Multiple Triangles – happy dynamic movement
10. Central Dot – clarity of thought and purpose
11. Comparison of two or more objects – interest, uniqueness, rhythm
12. Crossed lines (an X)- depth and distance
13. Repeated themes – rhythm, unity, completeness
14. Tunnel effect – concentration, objectivity
Of course most photo composition will be a mixture of these 14 lines and shapes. You will also want to remember that rules and guidelines in art are often best broken as long as you are aware of them, and why you are breaking them. This applies to our nature photography tips as well.
Nature Photography Tips
Your challenge is to create an album of your own original photo composition using all 14 lines and shapes. Try to collect at least 2 or 3 examples of each concept, and continue to replace the ones you don’t feel are prize winning compositions. In time you’ll have an album of nature photography that’s rich and varied. You might try confining yourself to one theme such as cats or trees, or all photos from one area.
I’m planning to have photo contests and critiques available on Photo Lifestyle soon, so you’ll be able to share your work with all of us. Enjoy!
Tags: lines and shapes, nature photography, nature photography tips, photo composition
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Wonderful roundup, thank you!