Lover's Bridge, Danshui, Taiwan

Leading lines are a very useful compositional technique that serve to draw the viewer’s eye through the photo. They lead the eye to another point in the frame or out of it altogether. A leading line can be almost anything either straight or curved. A river bank, road, shoreline, shadow, fence, tree line, bridge, flock of birds – all can work as leading lines.

Lines can help emphasize a relationship between foreground and background elements in a photograph, or illustrate the concept of distance. We often want to have our leading lines begin from one corner of the image and walk the eye through the photograph. Some care often needs to be taken to ensure that the line doesn’t appear to cut the photo in half, as it would if we started our leading line at the edge or in the center of the picture.

Vertical lines, such as those found in trees and buildings can often conjure up a feeling of power and dominance. Horizontal lines may suggest peacefulness and a sense of calm. Examples of this are found at beaches and horizons. Diagonals transmit a sense of action and depth while curved lines give a feeling of sensuality and balance. Finally, a sense of depth and distance is most easily created through the use of converging lines. A common example of this is railway tracks stretching into the distance.

So next time you’re out with your camera, pay attention to the lines you include in your photo as well as the ones you leave out.

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