Form in Landscape Photography - Lines - Shape and Volume


by Andrea Ghilardelli - Date: 2007-02-21 - Word Count: 476 Share This!

For a picture to look beautiful, many elements can concur. One of these elements is form. For a better understanding of what form is, imagine a black and white photograph. Without color, form is the prominent feature of the image. A classical example where form is the major constituent of a picture is the silhouette. Form can be thought of as the combination of three fundamental constituents. From the simplest to the most complex, they are lines, shapes and volume. Let us take a deeper insight to each of the three constituents of form and how to exploit them for composing better photos.

Lines

When composing a photo, take care of lines. Lines are defined by the juxtaposition of two regions with high contrast. Contrast can be determined both by differences in brightness and by diversity in colors. Lines serve two main purposes. The first one is to define shapes. The second, less trivial and most challenging, is to drive the viewer's eye where we want to. For instance, if you want to attract the viewer's attention to a certain subject, try having lines converging to that subject. On the contrary, if your aim is to have the viewer's eye wander throughout the picture, try having diagonal lines crossing it.

Preponderance of vertical lines gives the composition a vigorous touch. On the contrary, prevalence of horizontal lines suggests a sensation of quietness and balance. Diagonal lines usually give a dynamic feeling to the composition. Finally, curved lines can create rhythm, harmony and depth; they can also drive smoothly the viewer's eye around.

Shape

The second element of form in order of complexity is shape. Shapes are two-dimensional and, just like lines, their contrast depends on the juxtaposed regions. The above-mentioned silhouette is an effective example where shape is pivotal in an image. Inside shapes sometimes texture may be present. Texture is the structure and the appearance of something. It tends to make lines and shapes less noticeable. Repeating shapes build up a pattern.

Volume

Although a photograph is inherently two-dimensional, it can convey the sense of depth. When this happens, we have volume, i.e. a three-dimensional impression.

The best way to achieve this is by inserting elements in different planes in the image. For instance, a landscape photography picturing a panorama, will give a greater sensation of spatiality if a nearer element is present in the foreground, such as a shrub or a person. Another example might be the insertion of two identical subjects at different distance; they will be reproduced at different scales and will convey an impression of depth. Usually, the photographer must ensure that the elements giving the sense of depth be in focus. Technically this is accomplished by setting the depth of focus as high as possible. Sometimes you may even take advantage of the atmosphere to render depth, because the further the objects, the mistier they appear ("aerial perspective").


Related Tags: photography, form, line, shape, volume, pattern, texture

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