Project: Using lines in composition.

Exercise:    Implied lines.

Start by looking at these two photographs and find the implied lines in each, showing them in a small sketch diagram.  If one direction along a line is dominant, indicate this with an arrow.

 Then find three photographs of your own, and perform the same analysis.  

This was taken at St Pancras station before it became the London terminus for Eurostar.  There are several lines leading to the main subject, the train.  The shadows cast by the trolley, lead the eye, but more important I feel the angle of the doors direct you through the image.

I visited Glasgow in 2008, quite some time I know since it had been City of Culture in 1990.  This image I felt was such a contrast, showing a side of the city that I hope very few visitors see.   Although the woman in the red coat has her back to the camera, it is obvious that she is looking at the poster, so there must be an eye-line from her towards the woman on the advertising hoarding.

Walking down Brick lane in London's East end, I spotted this scene.  At the time I hadn't realised it's significance, but knew there was something I liked about the image.  I can know see that there are three eye-lines in this photograph.  The woman holding the ladder, the graffiti on the wall and the sheep's head, all have eyes looking at the man trying to put up some sort of flag.


For the third part of the exercise, plan and take two photographs that use the following kinds of implied lines to lead the eye:

• An eye-line
• The extension of a line, or lines that point.

Could it be that I am attracted to the colour or is red just very popular, so many of my photographs have red somewhere in them.  The low afternoon sun is making long shadows, that lead the eye to the couple, who, judging by all the bags, have been shopping.  The man's red coat is the main focal point in the photograph, so maybe the shadow lines are not really that important to this image.

This is the final photograph in this exercise and my example of an eye-line.  At first it may not be very obvious that the figure is that of a fisherman.   His eye's are concentrating on the end of the fishing rod, that is resting on the bike, watching for any movement which would indicate he's caught a fish.  This is making a very definite eye-line, there is also a triangle in this picture, formed by the fisherman, the tower and the push bike.