Guide line composition with excellent film production effect in mobile phone photography

We have talked a lot about composition methods, such as the three part method, the golden composition method, the symmetrical composition method, and so on… Today, let’s talk about the guide line composition method.

In many scenes, guide lines can be used to guide the audience’s line of sight by using scene lines to connect the main body of the picture with the background elements, so as to guide the line of sight and generate the visual focus of the photo. With this composition, even a flat photograph will become three-dimensional immediately. Therefore, in the field of mobile photography, this composition can be said to be the favorite of photographers.

What is the guide line

Before shooting, some natural lines, such as a path, a river, a bridge, etc., are taken in the early stage of shooting, or some lines are artificially strengthened in the post processing to guide the audience’s eyes to the main body of the photo. These lines are guide lines.

@Peng Bo

「 Function of guide line 」

1. Guide the visual focus, highlight the main body and set off the theme.

2. Make the picture more spatial and profound

3. It makes people feel immersive, that is, the sense of image substitution

4. Add aesthetic feeling to the picture, and take photos of the distant and near scenes to make the picture full.

@Huang Fengkai

「 Application of guide line 」

1. Roads

Each road on the street is the most common guide line. In the picture, the boundary on both sides of the road surface can guide the audience’s line of sight very well. The sense of road extension guides the line of sight gradually from the periphery of the picture to the center, which is also the intuitive use of single point perspective.

@Yu Yue

When we take pictures in this scene, we should pay attention to:

1. The length of the road section should be appropriate, not too short or too long.

2. Try to choose the road section with less shelter, so that the guide line will be clearer.

3. Select a low level stand for better perspective effect.

@Li Xinzhi

2. Architecture

The periphery of many buildings can also be the guide line. The sense of lines brought by the building itself can be the guide line. The use of overhead camera for high-rise buildings will have a stronger visual impact.

The space plane formed by the arrangement of buildings, and the boundary and top of grounding can also be regarded as a kind of guide line.

@Peng Mingcong

For some neatly arranged and compact buildings, their guiding lines will be more obvious, giving the audience a stable and orderly visual experience without being too rigid.

@Qi Jianhui

3. Bridge

The bridge itself can be the main body or the guide line. The bridge can be used as the main body in the three-way composition. The lines of the subject itself can well lead the audience’s vision to the distance, giving the audience space for reverie.

@Chen Xiongjie

The main body of the picture below is an old man, with leaves as the foreground. An old man walks alone on the winding pier, adding a different flavor to the picture and rendering the atmosphere.

@Lin Hong

4. Corridor

The corridor can also be used as a guide line, because it has a structure like a tunnel, which can bring people a sense of depth. The corridor design of some buildings is very unique. With the arrangement of environmental light sources, it forms a crisscross of light and dark, making the picture more artistic and dramatic.

It should be noted that in the narrow and limited scene space, we should better control the elements of the picture so as not to damage the construction of the space.

@Qu Jiamin

5. Trees

The neat and lush trees on both sides of the road or river bank are also a good guide line. Rows of trees can well lead the audience to the distance, and the trees themselves are also good content in the picture. Composition and shooting are very important, and post processing is needed if necessary.

@Kong Weili

@Luo Xiaoyu