Leading Lines Thank you Terry.

TPorter2006

Leading Lines

Say what you want about photographs, but the one thing they lack is depth. Pick up a print, and it has length and width but most are pretty thin. Look at an image on a computer, same thing, it’s flat. But chances are good your photographic subject did have depth. So it is up to the photographer to create the illusion of depth to show what existed in our 3-D world in a 2-D format.

One of the ways to do this is with linear objects in the image called leading lines. The line shapes actually lead your eye through the picture. Anything with a line form can be a leading line, whether natural or man-made.

Fences,


Roads


& Shorelines


are all good examples of leading lines. These contours can convey a feel of distance and give perspective and scale to a shot.

Leading lines are an important compositional element. They can direct interest to your main subject, as well as adding depth to your image. Think of a colorfully dressed bicyclist on a deserted road with the two yellow lines leading you right to that focal point. Or the classic shot of railroad tracks receding in the distance to a vanishing point.

Most of the time, you are directing attention from the bottom of the photograph towards the heart of the scene, or from the foreground to the background. But you can also use a leading line from the corner of an image.

Leading lines act like a flashing arrow to your viewer, saying “Look Here”. So you do want to watch which direction these lines are taking. Is it away from your subject? Does a line lead someone out of the photograph totally? Make these lines work for you. Look for leading lines in the foreground before you compose your shot.

You can also try to use leading lines that echo the other shapes in your image. A curving mountain road through sloping mountains, for example. The straight line of a street leading into a cityscape.

When you compose a picture such that it has a defined leading line, I think you need good depth of field. The leading line should not be soft and similarly the background that you are leading the viewer to should be sharply defined.


Lines also carry certain pre-conceptions.

Vertical lines imply power and strength


Horizontal lines can show tranquility or be static.


Curved lines have beauty and can be more subtle.


Diagonal lines are more dynamic and imply action


Jagged lines suggest conflict.


Keep the idea of leading lines in mind, they can help show the true depth of your subject and make images more compelling!



Here are some examples of images in The Pinnacle Hall of Fame pool that I think demonstrate great use of leading lines:

"Valley of Fire, Vegas" by Kathy~


"Purple Mountains" by joiseyshowaa


"Rusty Trails" by drwhimsy


"Rush Hour" by Anderson Fang



More resources on Leading Lines:

www.anntorrence.com/blog/2008/10/learn-photo-composition-...

desktoppub.about.com/od/gestalt/Gestalt.htm

projects.ilt.columbia.edu/edviz/curriculum.html