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Noticing curves in a photograph
Discover sweeping edges, rounded details, and curves in everyday things.
A curve can give your eye somewhere to travel. Follow the hem of a skirt, an arch above a face, or a petal that curls into another petal. You can begin with one visible edge and discover how it relates to the rest of the photograph.
Follow a sweeping edge.
Portrait with a sweeping purple skirt · Photograph: Yenra
Woman in Elaborate Costume · Photograph: Yenra
The purple skirt makes a broad sweep across the lower part of the frame. Its curved trim gives you smaller lines to follow within that larger shape. Try looking first at the hem, then at the face. Does the route between them change what you notice?
In the closer portrait, curved costume forms rise around the head. A braided band makes another curve across the forehead. These shapes occupy a smaller area than the skirt, but they offer a similar invitation: trace an edge, then look at the space beside it.
Find smaller curves within a shape.
Vibrant Rose Bouquet · Photograph: Yenra
Portrait with a decorated flower basket · Photograph: Yenra
The bouquet fills a horizontal frame with rounded flowers and curling petals. Pick one flower and follow its edge before moving to its neighbors. You might notice a repeated round shape, a changing size, or a small curve within a larger one.
The basket handle forms a broad arch beside the person's face. Rounded flowers and a curved strand of decoration give the lower part of the basket other shapes to explore. Compare the handle's open center with the denser flowers below it. Which part catches your attention first?
Try a curve nearby.
A cup handle, a loop of cord, or a folded piece of cloth is enough to start. Make a picture that includes the whole curve, then move the camera a little. Notice how the space within and around the shape changes. A curve can be the main subject or a small detail that you enjoy discovering later.
Look back with curiosity.
- Which curve did you follow first?
- Where does it meet another shape?
- What small change would you try?
Continue with Following lines through a photograph, Seeing clothing as shape, or Finding rhythm in repeated shapes.
Explore all 155 photographs from September 21 → · Visit the September 28 gallery · Visit the October 5 gallery · Take the curved-shapes experiment with you →