Leading the way: The Power of Lines in Photography

Text and photos by Heather Cline 

Worms eye view of trees, Lassen National Park

You may have heard about leading lines and how they can be used as a powerful compositional tool in photography. But - if you have not - you have probably seen thousands of photos in your lifetime that incorporate this compositional approach. Leading lines are used to point you to the subject or to lead you through an image. These can be created using many different techniques and this article will explain how to create them and how they make images more dynamic and interesting. 

Vanishing Point

The vanishing point is the spot in an image where parallel lines converge, giving a sense of depth. Some obvious examples are roadways extending into the distance, railroad tracks, or piers like the one below. 

Crescent City pier on a foggy day

You can use the vanishing point to draw the viewers eye towards your subject, like a dramatic sunrise or landscape. The vanishing point is line to takes your viewer's eye right where you want it to go. 

White Domes Road, Valley of Fire State Park

It is more common to use a deep depth of field when creating vanishing point images, but experimenting with shallow depth of field can produce equally interesting results. 

Bridge, Cosumnes River Preserve

Directional lines 

Here are four examples of directional lines:

• Horizontal: Horizontal lines are most often found in landscape photography. They can be found in architecture, roadways, waterways, but the most common horizontal line is the earth's horizon. Because they typically stretch across the width of the image, they tend to be used when shooting with a wide-angle lens. Horizontal lines can ground an image and give a sense of stability. 

• Vertical: Vertical lines tend to convey a sense of power and strength. They draw the eye up or down and can be used to convey status. Using a vertical framing helps accentuate this. 

• Diagonal: Diagonal lines work well for drawing the viewers eye through the photo. They create a sense of movement and change. If the diagonal intersects with another line, like in he photo below, it creates additional interest. Diagonal lines can also be used to create a sense of distance and work well with deep depth of field. 

• Curved: Curved lines tend to the lead the viewer's eye around the image in a slower manner than straight lines. Curved lines are everywhere in the natural world, from rivers, tress, and even sand dunes. 

Intersections

You aren't limited to one leading line in a photograph. You can create intersections where horizontal and vertical meet or diagonal and horizontal, as in the photograph below. This creates a sense of depth as well as leading the viewer's eye to the sunset. 

I hope this article has provided you with some information and examples to incorporate lines into your images. For additional examples of leading lines, check out my leading lines gallery here.