Shapes are essentially closed lines.  Shapes can be simple or complex; organic or geometric.

Like lines, different kinds of shapes can elicit specific responses.  Curving shapes, like those found in the human body or in nature, can be calming.  Geometric shapes with straight lines and angles, like those found in urban landscapes can imply stability, and geometric shapes with diagonal lines and acute angles can give a chaotic or frenetic energy to an image.

Repetition of elements, like line and shape, is pattern.  And we humans like patterns.  Pattern, or repetition, with out a break can be uninteresting.  Our eyes are drawn to places where patterns are broken; where there is variation.

I would love to see your images that use dominant organic or geometric shapes in your compositions.  How did you use the qualities of these shapes and patterns to create an atmosphere, reinforce the idea of the image, draw the viewer’s eye to the subject?

Want to see more from this series?

• The Visual Thinker | Lines
• The Visual Thinker | Look, Learn and be Self-aware

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• The Visual Thinker | Line
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• A New Twist on Rule of Thirds
• The Visual Thinker | Balance and Unity