Exercise 19 - Diagonals

Next we started to look at diagonals in photos, how they can add depth to a photograph and be created by chaning the angle of the camera and alos by using telephoto or wide angle lenses.

Here are four photographs I took for this exercise:

This photograph has lots of diagonals, the tram tracks, overhead power cables, thepath, railings and strings of lights.  These all work to draw your eye towards a distant point and give the photograph depth.

The main diagonal in this photograph comes from where the two sections of sea wall meet, this draws your eye to the tidal pools of fsea water left on the beach after the high tide.  It is like it is pointing at them, and there isa long puddle of water that extends this line further taking your eye to the top of the photograph.

The diagonals in this photograph come from the angle it is taken at.  The diagonal line created by the row of seats leads the eye to the building at the end, the second but less obviously strong diagonal from the roofs on the right reinforces where your attention should be.

The diagonals come from the stair handrail which draws your attention upwards.  Unfortunately it is just a building sit so not a great photograph but it proves the point of diagonals in photographs

There are many examples of diagonals in the set books for this cause but a couple that sprung out at me when flicking through Michael Freeman's The Photographer's eye book included on page 95 - Selective Focus, the diagonal coluns of text make your eye move from top right to bottom left and St James's Palace on page 147 the colums on the left lead your eye right to the topen archway and because it is a diagonal line it gives a sense of depth of how far away the building entrance is.