I read a great article about lines in our pictures yesterday that I want to share with you.
http://digital-photography-school.com/working-the-lines-in-your-photography
Read through this main page and then follow the links to the three types of lines at the bottom.
Horizontal lines: The author says that horizontal lines create the feeling of stability and rest. I had trouble coming up with a photo of mine for this. Hopefully that doesn’t mean that my life lacks stability and rest right?! lol I did however find this stunning stock image:
Forgive the fact that it is about crucifixions, but the horizontal lines really do add to the ominousness and help to build up to the statues don’t they? The picture even shows how they are helped by the breaking up a bit of the horizontal lines with the cracks in the steps and the wall edges on the side.
Vertical Lines: These can show power and growth. I found this cool picture of my son playing basketball that has a lot of verticals in it:
There are the tall basketball hoop and my son reaching up tall, all of that is accentuated by the verticals in the wooden fence rail behind them. Just like the article says, the effect is amplified by having the picture vertical also so that it looks like he is reaching for the stars to make this shot! Also, take note that the vertical lines are running parallel with the edges of the photograph.
Diagonal Lines: The author, Darren Rowse says that diagonals can draw your eye through a picture. I thought immediately of the image in our previous post with my son walking by the fence.
The diagonal lines in the fence bring the eye right up and into the photo, and I think help add motion to the picture as if you can see my son walking along this path. The article talked about how the most pleasing lines go from left to right, up through the image so I tried turning the picture around. Which do you like better? I’ve been staring at them so long I can’t tell. 
