Leading lines for my assignment

[Nikkie]

First up if you come across this post before I am finished could you please come back again as I have more then 5 photos to post I will need to post more in my own reply if you get what I mean the last post I will put last in it.

Now due to family issue's and time away Ive had to have I had not been able to finish until now I have all of what I need for my assignment but the leading lines now I got so many I just can not decide so I will hand it over to your expert eyes and opinion1 does it have leading lines 2 is the photo nice enough not great but nice 3 can you see creativity of one type or another. I wont tell you what one's I am leaning more towards because I don't want you to say well just go with that its your assignment its your photo I may still go with the one's I like but lets put this to vote please be honest of your thoughts thank you remember don't reply unless you see me say last this is my explanation of how I see IMO





1: the turf farm the plowed field right up front brings my eye to right that leads me to move on to see the 2nd row of lines that bring me back down again maybe not really leading lines I guess but for me when I look at the photo that is what it does for me.




2: again similar to the first of how I seen the photo the wire fence in the foregrond leads my eyes to the row of trees in the background that moves my eyes along the trees to see the subject the tractor and then the rest of the turf farm




3: there are prob to many lines here. for me the road outside of the office of the turf farm lead down to the ladder thing but also the road from the over the main road down the farm and into or up to the trees in the background but as far as lines go its prob too much and more distraction as now that I look it my eyes are not sure what part of the photo to look at first all over the place



4: now I look at it the backgound fence or the power lines is not leading any place so count this one out I guess I am trying to draw the short straw and its not there at all


5: I think this is keeps the viewer guessing of what is further down the road maybe just my way of thinking the road leads down the hill and up the hill around the curve and back again on the other side but that is really it

[Nikkie]

Last sorry its a lot there is a total of 10 so 1 to 10 in comments



6: the veranda leads the viewer to the shed but na not really the best






7: the church IMO the chairs not the isle act as leading line in the sense that they take your eye right down the back door or wall as leading lines don't have to be just lines as such but steps or rows can also act as leading lines from my understanding but I could be wrong




8: the footpath or side road bit and the road takes your eye down to the tree that is the main subject as after that the road has a curve and takes you no where



9: the road and the power-lines and power poles and the road takes you down to the shed after that again the road curves the viewer is left guessing what is further down the road





10: I used this one as to me the power lines and the power poles takes you down to and then up to see the tower thing up on the hill but none of these are really leading lines I do have one better will post that here

[Isac]

Hi Nikkie,
Leading lines should lead the eye from a (usually) large section of the image to a particular object, person or something else that you want the viewer to focus on or be the main centre of attention - to actually be transported through the image from the starting point (eg: the widest part in the foreground of a highway) to the main attraction in your shot. The only one that I can really say has a strong leading line, is #6, which draws the eye through the verandah to the wooden shed in the background. Others in your set either have the line broken or there is no start and end to the line. Others may offer a different slant on things or see it from a completely different perspective. A lot of times, leading lines appear simply by accident.
I can see you are really giving that camera a good workout. Keep it up.

[Scottymc]

The ones with the roads are perfect examples they are leading you somewhere. Try and find a nice house with a lovely driveway that has a feature. So your eyes get naturally drawn to the feature of the photo.
If you can. Can you please give us a description on each photo of what you tried to capture? and where the leading lines are leading us in that particular image. God im starting to sound like an old turd and im only 28. I dont mean this to be harsh or anything, i take Criticism very well so its hard for me to give it so there it is.

[K1W1]

I agree I don't see any leading lines in the first four photos. The one that I think works best for me as an example is the road with the right turn after the church..

Hint: When you post multiple shots like this it's much easier for everybody if you number then then people have a common way of referring to photos.

[Nikkie]

11: the road leads the viewer down to the bridge but pretty boring other wise I think its back to the drawing board for me thank you every one for your honest opinion

[Nikkie]

Grr I posted the wrong one tried to delete it but it sitll stayed that would be the last one the mistake sorry bout that

[K1W1]

Try looking a little smaller. Within most of the shots that you posted there are elements that could be used as leading lines. For example in the church photo you could shoot down one aisle and use the aisle to lead th eye towards a pulpit or similar (assuming there was something at the end). In the photo of the road with the barn at th end thee is a nice row of fence posts on the left that could perhaps be used to lead the eye towards the barn.
I think you need to look more in detail and not at such a wide perspective.

[Nikkie]

do you mean something a bit more like this ?

[Scottymc]

That last one would be perfect. Now what i would do is get level with that tree on the right, (well just this side of it so that it doesnt cut off any of the castle thing (also known as a church), try and use the trees as a natural frame for the church then take the shot from about 60cm's off the ground so you have this lovely driveway leading straight into the castle with natural framing. That there is a win. You might want to do it at about 7am or 4:30pm tho depending on which time of day the sun hits the front side you can see. Unless its a lovely cloud pattern last thing in the day, then it doesnt matter where the light comes from haha.
Wow what a confusing post.

[K1W1]

Also think about where your lines are going. If your lines run up and down the image a portrait orientation makes much more sense than landscape.
In the first one of the group above (I really do wish you would number them) a portrait orientation with a bit more at the bottom would let the tiled area lead you into where the sign is.
I know that these are test examples but you really should get your horizontals and verticals correct in these sorts of photos. If you submitted these as they are they would look more like happy snaps being slightly tilted.

[sejac]

Leading lines are a powerful compositional element. I always thought that the function of 'leading lines' is lead the eye into or through a photograph, into a scene. So #1 and #2 don't have any leading lines to speak of.

#5 is a good example of 'leading lines', as my eye is drawn into the photo by the lines the road makes.

#8 is another good illustration of 'leading lines, but in this example, the eye is drawn not into the scene but out of it. As you said, it takes you no where.

#11 has potential, but the very straight line I agree is a bit un-interesting. A more dramatic angle perhaps? Try for a very low shooting position, putting the camera on the road above the line? Just a thought. People say I do much of my best work when lying on the ground!

[Nikkie]

I always thought that the function of 'leading lines' is lead the eye into or through a photograph, into a scene.

that is what I was taught as well Charles leading lines don't have to be a road or railway lines and they don't have to lead to any one thing in the photograph there function is like you said to lead your eyes into or through the scene of the photo. All of the these photos were taken from the passenger side of a moving car not including the church one's of course and the 2 with the bridge and cows were taken on a differnt time all of the other photos were taken 5 hours away I was not really looking for leading lines but thought if I got some it would be a bonus.


Scott thanks for this information I can go back and do the church one again as it is just down the road a tad when I was looking for leading lines on this occasion I did take them at the wrong time of the day around lunch time-ish I can do much better then that I am sure.