Leading Lines

There are probably almost as many techniques in photography as there are photos – one of them being covered right now at the local Altiplano Camera Club is the use of “leading lines” to draw the viewer into the main subject of the photo.

The idea is one I’m well familiar with – to provide an easy path for the eye of the viewer to follow toward a focal point in the photograph. Roads are one convenient mechanism as they generally go somewhere and if that is somewhere photogenic – that’s half the battle.

There are of course many other sources of leading lines in real life – and the lines don’t even have to be straight. Rivers, shorelines, trees, cliffs, window panes and more can also be used to pull in the reader. Rather than re-invent the wheel I’m going to point you to this site for more on that subject. I’m not in any way involved with this particular “Digital Photography School” blog and be warned they do have ads – but I DID find some of the photos on the link above to be genuinely fascinating. The subject therein is “How to Use Leading Lines for Better Compositions”. Take a look at Anne McKinnell’s page. Here’s another page worth a quick check.

You may noticed that the background header of this blog makes use of several lines to draw you in. I took that shot some years ago on a particularly awful day, I believe in Blackpool down at the coast.

The photo below was NOT taken down at the coats and here I’m using a very CURVED shoreline at Aguilas (near Cartagena) in Southern Spain (shot recently) to take you over to a more pleasant and sheltered part of the beach. Indeed if you wish, you could then follow the trail all the way up to the top of the hill (to Castillo De San Juan De Las Aguilas)… or not as you prefer.