Bridging to leading lines.

I will be the first to admit that this pumpkin is over saturated. However, I couldn't find the raw file, so you'll just have to accept that. (Photo by Felix R. Fimbres)

   So by now you should have rule of thirds down. So lets move on to Leading lines. Leading lines, like rule of thirds is super simple but you might have trouble seeing them at first.

   I will also be the first to admit that this isn't the finest example of a leading line. Not by a long shot. But it is a good example of a rule of thirds. I thought it would be a good way to demonstrate that you can have more than one element of composition (rule of thirds, leading lines, balance, framing) in your photograph.

The red arrow is a leading line, barely, but it leads to your subject.

   So what is a leading line? Well quite simply it's anything that draws your eye from one part of the frame to another part of your frame.

   I like to have my leading lines lead the viewer to a specific subject.

   I want to emphasize that one more time. A leading line should lead to a subject. Subjects, still a big deal.

   But let's talk about this photo for a minute and why I don't think it's a great example of a leading line.

   Well to start, the line (the vine) is soft and out of focus. Then there's the subject. There isn't a whole lot to say about it other than it's well, orange. Super orange. Your eye is naturally drawn to it because it's unusually orange. Even without the vines or the unusual orangeness of it your eye would probably still be pulled in that direction simply because the subject is filling two points of interest.

   Someone could argue that those crisp white-ish lines on the pumpkin are also leading lines. And they do lead to the green center of the pumpkin. And to a degree I might accept that, but going back a few paragraphs, those lines should be leading to a subject.

"But they are leading to that green part of the pumpkin, you said so yourself!"

   Which is true, but if your subject is the green part of the pumpkin why isn't it in a point of interest? Quite frankly because when I eye in the view finder I too suffered from tunnel vision and only saw that big orange pumpkin. Leading lines was an afterthought, it was "oh look at that orange, OH look at those leading lines." The lines just so happened to be there, I didn't purposefully add them in or emphasize them. Sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself so that next time you do a better job.

   Regardless, this is a great example of a rule of thirds, and only a mediocre example of a leading line.

   Had I gone into this photo trying to get leading lines AND rule of thirds this could have been a great example of both.