Tech Talk Tuesday

Well, I've had several of you say you like my pointers on taking better photos, so I'll continue. We are still talking about COMPOSITION, and today I'll mention LEADING LINES. When you take a photo, you want to be clear about what the subject is and you want to draw attention to that subject. Some of the ways you do this we've already talked about, such as 'framing' your subject and 'simplifying' or removing elements that distract from the subject. Another way to draw the viewer into your photo and take her to the subject is with leading lines. Consider the following photos:

In this shot the diagonal leading line of the purple pansies and grass edge, leads your eye from bottom to top taking you on a tour of the beautiful flowers along the way. Special Note: diagonal or curvy lines are especially pleasing to the eye.


Here, Jeff and I were in a glass factory in Mexico. I was attracted to all the shelves of brightly colored glass. I was looking for a 'creative' shot, and this lady with a bright red shirt and purse walked into the frame. I loved how the bright red in the glasses and the line of the shelves complimented and moved my eye directly toward the lady. Of course, this would have been a much better shot if the lady had been Jeff or someone I really wanted to remember.


Here the large rocks in the foreground lead your eye to smaller rocks that point to the Tetons, which are the main subject.



And in this photo that I also posted earlier, I still feel like I'm standing in the middle of the road, looking right down the yellow lines to the red rock mountains in the background.

NOW, GO FIND AN INTERESTING SUBJECT THAT HAS A LEADING LINE DIRECTING THE VIEWER WHERE TO LOOK. (Remember that leading lines in and of themselves are boring. They have to lead to something interesting for the viewer to look at.)