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Landscape composition – framing and use of lines
Techniques
19 September 2007 15:41
One of the first choices you need to make when setting up your shot is whether to shoot the scene in horizontal or upright format. This choice has a big affect on the look of the final image, although which you prefer is largely down to your own taste.
Horizontal framing is often referred to as landscape format, since it has traditionally been used for many scenic images and it fits with the normal view of the landscape. But don’t let that determine your final choice, as upright landscapes can work equally as well, and sometimes even better. Shooting in the more traditional horizontal format does make it easier to include wide areas of the landscape though.
As nature doesn’t tend to produce many straight lines, those among the many shapes and forms present in most scenes will tend to grab our attention and so have a large affect on the composition of your shots. Horizontal lines tend to appear passive or restful, so including them in your shots gives them a peaceful, non-threatening appearance. Upright lines or features are more unsettling though. Including these in your shots gives them more energy and makes them appear more dynamic than if the images only include horizontal lines.
Both horizontal and vertical lines can divide the shot into sections, especially if they cross the whole image. The main horizontal line present in most natural landscapes is the horizon. For most landscapes this needs to be level, and the human eye is surprisingly good at spotting when it’s not.
If you’re deliberately shooting at an angle make sure the horizon is a long way from horizontal to avoid the appearance that you simply got the shot wrong. You may find you can get the horizon straight without any help but a spirit level mounted on the camera or tripod is a great help in the field. Digital users can also straighten their shots on the computer later, although it’s best to get it right in-camera if you can.
Similar to vertical lines, diagonal lines and features in your composition add a sense of energy to the shot. Diagonal lines are also a great way of leading the viewer into the picture. When they lead from the edge of the image towards the centre or a significant part of the scene they can help to concentrate the attention onto this area of the image. This technique, known as lead-in lines, is a great way of helping the viewer ‘read’ the picture, as it makes it more obvious which area you want them to look at in detail. It also helps to add a sense of depth to the shot as it gives the impression of distance between different subjects.