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Composition3 min read

LESSON 28

Leading lines

Paths that take the eye somewhere.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. Lines guide the eye
  2. What different lines suggest
  3. Where the line should go
  4. In practice: finding them

Lines guide the eye

Line is one of the basic elements of composition: the visual path that lets the eye move through a picture. Viewers read a picture by following continuous arrangements of things at different distances, often without noticing. Some lines are literal, such as roads, rails, fences, cables and the rigging of boats. Others are implied: the edge between two colours or tones, a row of separate objects, or the blur left by something moving. A leading line is one that carries the eye toward the main subject. It also adds depth, because lines that run away from the camera show perspective.

What different lines suggest

The source links line direction to mood. Horizontal lines, common in landscapes, give a sense of calm and space. Strong vertical lines suggest height and grandeur. Tightly converging lines feel dynamic and lively, and lines near the diagonal add tension. Curves are softer and are often read as more natural; the two main types are the simple C curve and the more winding S curve, such as a river or a mountain road. A small change of viewpoint, a few degrees or a few centimetres, can change the angles of the lines a lot, and with them the feeling of the picture.

Where the line should go

A line works best when it ends at something. A road that leads to a lone house, a jetty that points at a sunset, a corridor that ends at a person: the eye arrives with a reason to stop. Many lines that lead nowhere give a sense of disorder, which the source notes can fight the mood you want. Lines entering from a corner of the frame tend to pull the viewer in more strongly than lines that start in the middle. Watch also for lines that lead the eye out of the frame, away from your subject.

In practice: finding them

This section is working practice. Get low: a road or a set of tiles seen from just above the ground fills the lower frame and shoots toward the subject. A wide lens close to the line stretches it and makes it more forceful; lesson 34 explains why. Look for lines made by light too, such as a beam through a window or a shadow across a street. If the line is strong but the subject is weak, wait for something to arrive at the end of it: a cyclist, a boat, a person in a red coat.

Try it today

  1. 01Find a road, a fence, a railing or a row of trees.
  2. 02Shoot it from standing height, then from just above the ground.
  3. 03Move until the line enters from a corner and runs toward a clear subject.
  4. 04Make one frame with an S curve, such as a path, a river or a road.
  5. 05Wait at the end of a strong line until someone walks into the frame.