Lines That Lead

I'm happy to be back this week, after a short Easter break from doing anything technically oriented.  That included picking up my camera, but did not exclude using the television remote control.  This go round, the subject is leading lines. 

I have covered this before, but today I am approaching it in a much different way.  Usually, when you see the term leading lines you think traditionally of this:

A photograph with converging lines and a vanishing point.

Wait.....WUT?

I have used this shot before, in another blog post, and it's a very traditional use of leading lines in a photograph. Leading lines are a basic tool of composition, which looks to focus the viewer's eye in a certain spot (hopefully on the subject).

Our brains naturally follow a line to what's known as a "vanishing point."  It's why your brain, and my brain, follows the little footbridge and it's railings back to Moe, and not vise versa. Ideally, I would have liked Moe back even further in this photo, almost to the mouth of the footbridge, but you take what you can get with Moe.

If you kept drawing the lines of the railings to a point behind Moe's back, eventually they would converge.  Our brains are doing that for us and in the meantime, our eye is going to Moe.  Which is what we want.

There are different types of lines that lead, though.  Not just the traditional ones.  So this week, because we are still in weather as a form of punishment here in Pennsylvania (we lost power for 16 hours Wednesday to Thursday), I went back through some of my photographs to find a bit different illustration of lines that lead the eye.

This time the dominant lines are horizontal (the fence line). Coupled with the downward lines of the trees in the background, the eye is asked to immediately move to the subject--Emmett.  The fence is "converging" behind his back (there is that leading lines concept).

In another illustration of lines that lead, here is a photo of Billie, where sky, horizon, tree line, reflection and water are all horizontal lines converging behind her, to bring her even more to the forefront (where she already is placed) in the picture. This is not my favorite photo of her, but a good example of the concept.  All the lines are blurred and moving away from her.  That pushes her forward.

In essence, we are always using lines to lead the viewer to a certain point.  Hopefully, it's the subject we want them to see.  I, for one, can't wait until our weather looks exactly like this last photo of Billie.  I have had enough of winter, cold, wind, and rain, and I'm looking forward to photographing loads of sunshine and dry days ahead!

For more leading lines, visit the blog circle, starting with Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography, fetching family portraits in Coppell, Texas and surrounding communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Here's hoping your weekend is whatever you want it to be!