Things to consider:
- Leading lines can create a sensation of dynamic energy, graceful movement, distance, or dimension.
- Because most of us read left to right, we are used to viewing photographs that way so in many compositions it's better to have the lines go left to right.
- But sometimes right to left improves the composition or maybe that's just the way the road goes.
- And sometimes the lines goes front to back.
- Or even up and down.
- Slanted lines are usually better than straight up and down or straight across
- Leading lines can be straight, curved, diagonal, irregular, or even spiral.
- Common leading lines are roads, fence rows, walls, walkways, and rows of plants, but leading lines can also be light rays or shadows, human limbs or a tree branch, a row of tombstones or a row of soldiers, a stair railing or stairway, just about anything can create a visual leading line.
- You can have more than one leading line in the same scene.
- Don't just stand there. Move around your subject, looking for the most appropriate leading line or lines.
Recommended Readings and Pictorial Examples:
- Jim Zuckerman on Composition: Leading Lines from mac-on-campus; a little lecture between lots of pictures
- Follow the Leading Lines from Family Travel Photos.com; a short article and accompanying photos
- Leading Lines - Photography Composition by Nate Kay from Photography Blogger; over two dozen photographic examples of leading lines. Some are more leading than others.
- Leading Lines by Darrel Priebe; a pdf document on 3 compositional elements - leading lines are on pages 2 - 8 from the Thousand Oaks Personal Computer Club
- Bill Fortney on Leading Lines - also talks about filters and camera positioning in this YouTube video:
No comments:
Post a Comment