Leading Lines - Unlocking the Secret of Composition in Street Photography
Introduction
Thank you for checking out this blog post. I'm hoping that this very simple tip will help you take your street photography skills to whole new level. We are going to unravel a fundamental composition technique – the art of leading lines!
Let's get into it!
Mastering Leading Lines: The Game Changer in Street Photography
Leading lines are great for Urban landscapes, where your subjects are simply streets and buildings, without people in the frame. However, leading lines also work very well when you do have people as your subjects. So give both a styles of street photography a go, as leading lines can really help train your Photographer’s eye and help you envision compositions more easily.
So how do leading lines improve composition?
They provide a visual interest for the viewer, leading their eye on a journey through your photo.
They create depth in your image.
They can also help accentuate your main subject. A leading line will lead straight up to the subject (if that's the composition style you are going for).
Capturing Everyday Moments: Fishermen on the Pier
I photographed these two fishermen who were fabulously symmetrical, calmly waiting and fishing on Hastings Pier. If you look closely, the perspective of the wooden planks work as leading lines, and in fact, lead up directly to the subjects. I don't think this image would have been as successful if the wooden planks were placed horizontally, rather than vertically. In this image, the concept of leading lines is subtle rather than intentional. I simply got lucky that the leading lines happened to lead up to the subject.
Urban Landscapes and Leading Lines
In this urban landscape, the curvature of The Mint, in Rye, East Sussex, works as a swooping leading line, that leads the viewers around the corner. The houses and the lit-up restaurants, also lead the eye through the photo. if this road was straight or had less of a curve it wouldn't have been as successful.
Power of Perspective: The Low-Angle Shot
In this instance, the cobbled street, that is Church Square, in Rye, works as a leading line because it is straight. The houses on the left and the graveyard wall on the right enforce the geometric perspective that leads up to the house in the distance. in this image, I think that the tree leaves adds a sense of much-needed framing. I don't think it would've worked as well without the lights in the distance.
If a road lacks distinction, you can force a leading line by shooting from a low angle. In this photo that was taken on The Strand, in Rye, I deliberately shot from a low angle in order to emphasise the gravelly road surface that acts as a leading line, which leads up to the building ahead and also down the road next to it. The smart inclusion of leading lines not only adds depth but also portrays the city's architectures in a unique, more attractive light. If I had shot this from body or head height, it would not have been as effective.
This last image is the perfect example of a leading line. Another shot from Hastings, the ground, and the walls of the buildings on either side work together perfectly as the geometric perspective parallel lines converge and lead up to the Vanishing Point that is the main subject – the boat. This may have been a once in a lifetime shot, having the boat dead centre in the frame. I recently went back to try and shoot this again, but there were vans, cars, and no boat in the centre of the frame.
The Leading Lines Challenge
The beauty of employing leading lines in your street photography lies in this - once you start experimenting with this technique, impossible possibilities unwrap. Every corner of a street, every pathway, every monument turns into a potential subject for an astounding visual narrative.
So gear up, head to the streets with your camera and let the leading lines guide your compositions. Remember, as a street photographer, the world is your canvas, and you are the remarkable artist set to create photographic masterpieces.
Stay tuned for more inventive street photography secrets and remember, the street is your stage, perform with your lens.
Go forth and create!