Leading lines are one of the most essential concepts in photography. By using leading lines in your photos, you'll give the eye of the viewer directions. Our brain loves lines and directions. So, Naturally, the eye of the viewer will follow those leading lines through your photo noticing everything along and at the end of the leading lines first.
So as a photographer, it's a common practice to place your main subject or subjects (I'm using plural on purpose here) along or at the end of leading lines.
In this tutorial, I'll show some example of leading lines in travel photography that I took in the past years. And I'll explain how and why I composed the photos this way so you can experiment with those concepts in your own photography.
Leading Lines can be basically anything. Here are some ideas of what can be used as a leading line in travel photography.
- Any kind of paths like a road, a country lane or a trail
- Natural lines like shorelines, a line of trees, rocks, and cliffs
- Man-made structures like buildings, boardwalks, bridges, pillars, and poles
- Even light (in contrast with shadow) can act as a leading line.
Example photos that use leading lines
As a travel photographer, you may spot leading lines almost anywhere in nature and in cities. Try to use them to your advantage to take stunning travel photos. Here are some examples from my travels
Shorelines at beaches and lakes
While this is not the most obvious way to create leading lines in a photo, it's a great way to enhance your photo composition that is often overlooked. Naturally, this technique works well at beaches and lakes. Use it to draw the attention to anything along or at the end of the shoreline.
Shorline as a leading line at Marshall’s Beach in San Francisco
When I arrived at Marshall's beach in San Francisco, I immediately noticed how the shoreline and the breaking waves created a slightly curved line towards the Golden Gate Bridge. So I waited until the waves break at the shore to form a clearly visible line towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
Leading lines at lake Alt Aussee
This second example photo is from a lake in Alt Aussee, a village in the heart of Austria. The main subject in this photo is the mountain range that's reflected in the water and the shorelines to the left and right create symmetrical lines that guide the eye towards the subject.
Additionally, the blue sky and its reflection in the lake create a sense of symmetry that I emphasized by placing the horizon in the middle of the frame.
Shore at Hallstadt
The last example is a well known Instagram Spot in a small village called Hallstadt. I guess you've heard about it. It's a 700 souls village that get's flocked by up to 10.000 tourists on a single day! In this composition, I used the shoreline to guide the eye along the village towards the church that acts as the main anchor point.
Bridges
Bridges, big and small, make fantastic leading lines.
Bridge used as a leading line towards the saxophone player
When I strolled through Central Park in New York, I heard and noticed this Saxophone player under the bridge. Notice where the musician stands. Instead of putting him into the center of the frame, I placed him to the edge and used the bridge and the arch to form a curved leading line.
Bridge as a leading line to convey distance
In the second example photo, the bridge acts as a leading line to convey mainly depth. It illustrates how deep the gorge near Salzburg actually is.
Intersecting Lines
Use intersecting lines if you want to draw the attention of the viewer to several different subjects in a photo. Intersecting lines are a great way to change the viewing direction of the eye in a picture.
Two leading lines intersecting
This place is called "Kaiserwasser" (Emperor's Water) and it's a relaxation area here in Vienna. By using the line that's created by the flora on the left, I guide the eye of the viewers along those different colored bushes until it meets the horizontal (shore)line of the lake. That changes the direction of the viewer towards the reflection of the skyscrapers.
Converging Lines
Converging lines are a powerful composition element to create perspective and to add depth in a photo. For such a composition look for lines that converge in an imaginary focal point. You can add the main subject at or near the focal point to draw the attention of the viewer towards this subject.
Converging leading lines from the background
I saw this abandoned, yellow, phone booth in Chernobyl and used the converging lines of the building that come from the background towards the phone booth. Leading lines do not always need to run from the foreground to the background. Experiment with lines that do precisely the opposite.
Converging leading lines used to illustrate distance
Converging lines also work great to illustrate how long this hallway in an abandoned hospital is.
Paths as leading lines.
Use paths in your photo composition to convey a sense of distance, space, and to invite the viewer to follow the path. Using paths as leading lines works great to draw the attention of the viewer towards a subject in or along the path.
Road used as a leading line to convey distance
In this photo, that I took in Berlin, I wanted to convey the enormous size of the forest and the distance to the city center of Berlin. In the distance, you can spot one of the main attractions of Berlin, the Alexander tower.
Road as a leading line to convey distance and space
Another example of using a path to convey space and distance is this photo I took in Death Valley.
Destroyed path as a leading line to spark curiosity
In the context of an abandoned place in the woods, this photo intends to make the viewer curious. As you can see, the path in the woods near Helsinki, Finnland, does not lead to any main subject. It just vanishes in the distance leaving a viewer wondering where does the path lead to and why does it look like it has been destroyed?
Path as a leading line through an open gate
As a final example, have a look at this shot of an old, medieval castle. The path (road) leads to and through an open gate. So you may interpret this as an invitation to follow the path into the castle.
Light and Sun
Using light is an often overlooked technique for composing a photo and to create leading lines. You have several options for using light in such a way. Either use rays of the sun to point towards the main subject of a photo or use light an shadow to direct the eye of the viewer.
In this photo that I took in a lost place near Berlin, I used the sunlight that came through the area above the boards to highlight the main subject, the old dentist chair. I intensified the light a bit in post-processing but using the light cone, the eye is immediately drawn to the dentist's chair.
Summary
Leading lines are one of the most essential composition elements in photography. Our brain loves to follow lines, thus does the eye. Use leading lines to guide the eye of the viewer through your image. Contrary to popular belief, you don't always have to place the main subject at the end or intersection of leading lines. Try placing the main subject along the leading lines in your photo.
And now, let's take some gorgeous photos with leading lines together.
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