Middle School 9th Grade - S curves

Another dynamic composition tool is to include a "S" curve. As the name suggests, a major element of the composition would be an object such as a stream, path, railing, or other curved object that creates an "S." If the S is right facing and starts in the lower left corner and exits the upper right corner - the feeling for most english speaking people is that the picture is moving away from the viewer. If the "S" is reversed, and starts in the upper left corner coming down to the lower right, the picture seems to be coming towards the viewer. This effect is from, I believe, learning to read left to right. Exercise: Go out and find an S Curve to photograph. Explore right facing and left facing curves and see how they feel to you.

9th Grade

Answer the 9th Grade Quiz

1. A good rule of composition is the use of _______ curves.


c curves

s curves




2. An S curve entering an image usually begins in the _______ and ends in the_______. But not always.


bottom left, top right

top left, bottom right




3. An S curve leaving an image usually begins in the _______ and ends in the_______. But not always.


bottom left, top right

top left, bottom right

First things first, practice what has been learned in this lesson. If you passed this section, great - you can move on to the next lesson. If you failed (80% or less) that's ok, you can retake the quiz whenever you like.