Leading Lines ….
Leading lines in photography are not to be confused with ‘leading lines’.
“Michelle, did you have Lucky Charms for breakfast?”
( Why yes, yes I did ! Why do you ask? )
“Because you look magically delicious !”
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Those types of ‘leading lines’ are cute and corny, and they cut to the chase in a very sweet way. The leading lines I am referring to are lines within an image that leads the eye to another point in the image, or occasionally, out of the image. Anything with a definite line can be a leading line. Fences, bridges, and even clouds can lead the eye. This is not a new concept to me, but it is new to me because I am now consciously looking for it. I noticed that some of my street photo’s captured a pretty strong direction. Those are the images that spurred my interest to look again.
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Let me back up a bit. I have an ‘eye’ that helps me to hang pictures on the wall, and to proportionally balance a room. That is just innate to me, but now I want to understand what it is that I see, so I am looking with intent for ‘leading lines’.
I went to my files to look at a few of my past photo’s, I was curious to see if any of my older images were guiding my eyes. Here are a few that I came up with:
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“Leading lines are used to draw the viewers eye through a photograph. They are intentional, or unintentional, natural lines created in the space of the photograph and are used to create a visual narrative in the composition. Leading lines are also used to draw your eye to a focal point in the shot that you would like to highlight.” wiki
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In early October I was photographing with my son when I saw a man walking through the woods, so I clicked away. I hadn’t noticed that he was between two very directional leading lines. Hmmm, sometimes you just get lucky!
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“Leading lines are one of the most effective and under-utilised compositional tools available to photographers. Our eyes are naturally drawn along lines and paths in photos, as they tend to make us feel as if we’re standing within the photo itself. These leading lines are a great way to experiment with the space and create relationships between the frames of the shot, the subject matter, and the space.” (google)
I guess I had one up on myself, not realizing what I saw, yet something seemed right. And, as you know, the only way to get better is to keep shooting, so I’m gonna keep shooting …
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Beautiful shots and a lesson, to boot! Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Keep on clicking sounds like a great plan to me. I always e njoy your work, Michelle. Thanks for the peek “behind the scenes”!
I “see” what you mean!
Genius….Your creativity plays with the objects it loves! Keep it up and thank you for the tutorial on leading lines.
Keep on reinventing your photography and your interpretation of what you see. They are GuuuR A T E! You have frosted your ‘fotos’ and no additional sugar is needed. Give me some milky milk, there is an appetite for your ‘sugar snaps’.
Thanks for the education. I concentrated on the lines my eyes followed in each photo. Very cool and beautiful photos!
I loved all the photos and I get the line part. My favorite one is of the trees. Your talent is amazing. XXOO
Bellissime!
That shot with the man walking in the woods between the trees reminds me of the Wizard of Oz scene where the guy hung himself and was swinging back and forth, but they decided to leave it in the movie. Intriguing!
Again, every photo is wonderful. It’s like a walk down memory lane and a new adventure. Keep it up!!
Very nice examples Michelle. I love using leading lines in my images but it is the more subtle lines that I have trouble seeing. Something for me to work on in the new year. 🙂