Implied lines

I took several photos of my niece and studied why some appealed more than others when essentially, they were all so similar. The coloured lines in these shots show the direction of movement through the image. The first image shows a curve to the top, yet it flows straight down at the bottom which I find quite abrupt. The second shot shows a flowing S shaped curve, so the line implied by Evie’s posture is much more pleasing to the eye. I also feel that the soft flowing curve fits with the nature of the subject.

The two implied eye lines give a cue to follow down to the money bowl which was the main purpose of the encounter. The arms of the two men back up this cue to create quite a strong message that the bowl could be the main subject of the photograph.

There are two types of implied line in this shot; the circular line flowing down the tree and round to follow the branch above frames the children while the dino-tree’s eye line leads behind the big tree to show the direction they would be moving if it were a real dinosaur.

The major implied line in this shot is from the lighting equipment. This line works in a similar way to an implied eye line.

The implied lines leading from Jordan’s feet point directly towards the top corners of the frame. I think this has an anchoring effect on the image which could explain why an expectedly flowing shot would turn out so static.