{"id":359463,"date":"2021-03-15T17:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T17:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/?post_type=learning-centre&p=359463"},"modified":"2024-04-15T17:01:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:01:01","slug":"using-leading-lines","status":"publish","type":"learning-centre","link":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/en-gb\/learning-centre\/using-leading-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Leading Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Of all of the techniques we can use to help us compose great-looking pictures, leading lines are among the most powerful and the easiest to use. Their name gives you a clue as to their role \u2013 they lead the eye around the frame, making sure it travels the route that the photographer intended, and ends up at the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These visual signposts are usually (but not always) diagonal, and most often start in the foreground before directing us to an object in the background. You\u2019ll see them at work most often in landscape and architecture photography \u2013\u00a0look for examples like rail tracks, paths, rivers, rocks, and bridges, which can all do the job very effectively. In fact, leading lines are so ubiquitous that using them in your own compositions is super easy and soon becomes second nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Jonathan Irish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve decided on your leading lines, the next thing to consider is where they should lead to. That might seem like an obvious question to answer, but you\u2019d be surprised how often photographers of all levels can get this wrong. When leading lines lead our eyes out of the frame, or off in the wrong direction, they\u2019re doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Daniel R Westergren<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If there is a single focal point or main subject in your picture, get the leading lines to point to this. In portraits, this is a person, so direct attention to your subject\u2019s head or eyes. In a still life, decide which part of the scene is the most important. In a landscape, where there often isn\u2019t a single point of interest, try to get your leading lines to point to a natural vanishing point \u2013\u00a0a place in the distance where converging leading lines come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Frank Ishman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll notice that it\u2019s easier to find and exploit leading lines when you\u2019re shooting landscapes with a wide-angle lens. This lets you get more foreground in the shot and exaggerates perspective, making the distance between near and far objects seem longer. Zoom out to the widest setting on your standard zoom lens to see the effect at work, then slowly zoom in a bit if the composition seems a little loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading lines are powerful when used in combination with symmetry \u2013 for instance, the view down a corridor or a low-down shot along a road or rail track. But they are just as important in asymmetric scenes, too, even if their role is more subtle and the viewer doesn\u2019t realise they are being directed around the frame.<\/p>\n\n\n

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