Leading lines in photography can be a powerful compositional tool. This simple technique helps a photographer bring the viewer's eye to a focal point, and gives a picture an overall structure in terms of layout.
Basically, any time there is a strong line in a photograph, the spectator's eye will naturally follow along it. This can be anything from a manmade object like a telephone pole or a road, to a natural object such as a tree or even a dark shadow. You can also pose people so that their posture creates this kind of focal point.
This tool can create a symmetrical, harmonious structure in your layout, by making one line into the visual journey. Or, you can have several lines that intersect, creating a tenser, more dramatic feeling as different points fight for the attention of the viewer. This compositional tool lets you control the emotion of an image, and change how spectators perceive your subject.
Some snapshots will naturally include this element, such as a photograph of a road stretching out towards the horizon into a sunset. For other pictures, you might compose a shot with this idea in mind, as a way to present a subject with greater meaning. As one example, when shooting a portrait, you might look for ways to position the subject so that shadows or nearby tree branches pull attention towards the person's face.
It is also a technique that many photographers use not just when taking a shot, but when later editing their work. When you are looking over your product, you may see the potential for leading lines that you didn't notice at the time the picture was taken. You can choose to highlight these either through cropping the image to bring a particularly strong visual aspect to the viewer's attention, or by altering the white balance and contrast in the photo so that particular elements stand out.
Another way to use this technique is by drawing the eye across the image to its edge and beyond by suggesting that the point of focus is actually past what the viewer can see, and lies beyond the edge of the picture. This visual story creates a feeling of motion, and leads the viewers attention on a dynamic path.
Many formal training courses include particular tasks that are meant to help emerging photographers master this technique. If you are doing photography as a hobby, or are teaching yourself the medium, you may benefit from concentrating on this tool during a particular session, or a period of your work, as a way to integrate it into your growing artistic abilities. It isn't difficult to master, and can prove very beneficial to your photography skills as they continue to develop.
With the amount of emotional power and compositional control leading lines in photography offer, it's no surprise that so many books about photography include this technique. It's no surprise either that many photographers, both professional and amateur, make use of this fairly easy way to control the viewer's experience of their work.
Basically, any time there is a strong line in a photograph, the spectator's eye will naturally follow along it. This can be anything from a manmade object like a telephone pole or a road, to a natural object such as a tree or even a dark shadow. You can also pose people so that their posture creates this kind of focal point.
This tool can create a symmetrical, harmonious structure in your layout, by making one line into the visual journey. Or, you can have several lines that intersect, creating a tenser, more dramatic feeling as different points fight for the attention of the viewer. This compositional tool lets you control the emotion of an image, and change how spectators perceive your subject.
Some snapshots will naturally include this element, such as a photograph of a road stretching out towards the horizon into a sunset. For other pictures, you might compose a shot with this idea in mind, as a way to present a subject with greater meaning. As one example, when shooting a portrait, you might look for ways to position the subject so that shadows or nearby tree branches pull attention towards the person's face.
It is also a technique that many photographers use not just when taking a shot, but when later editing their work. When you are looking over your product, you may see the potential for leading lines that you didn't notice at the time the picture was taken. You can choose to highlight these either through cropping the image to bring a particularly strong visual aspect to the viewer's attention, or by altering the white balance and contrast in the photo so that particular elements stand out.
Another way to use this technique is by drawing the eye across the image to its edge and beyond by suggesting that the point of focus is actually past what the viewer can see, and lies beyond the edge of the picture. This visual story creates a feeling of motion, and leads the viewers attention on a dynamic path.
Many formal training courses include particular tasks that are meant to help emerging photographers master this technique. If you are doing photography as a hobby, or are teaching yourself the medium, you may benefit from concentrating on this tool during a particular session, or a period of your work, as a way to integrate it into your growing artistic abilities. It isn't difficult to master, and can prove very beneficial to your photography skills as they continue to develop.
With the amount of emotional power and compositional control leading lines in photography offer, it's no surprise that so many books about photography include this technique. It's no surprise either that many photographers, both professional and amateur, make use of this fairly easy way to control the viewer's experience of their work.
About the Author:
Parker Michaels is a new media consultant and freelance photographer. For more information on leading lines in photography, visit www.photo-junkie.com.
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