Hey mama! Have you ever noticed that lines are ALL around us? Our homes, and the architecture we come across in everyday life are all composed of lines. Even nature has lines! Our eye naturally follows these lines, so when you photograph you can take advantage of this, using the lines to “lead” us to the most important part of your image…your kiddos! It’s a photography composition technique called Leading Lines, and just like finding frames all around us, you are now going to see lines everywhere too (sorry!). Bonus: there are many times you can use both Framing and Leading Lines (ie: a window can double as a frame around your subject, and has lines that can lead to your subject).
Next time you stop to take a photo of your little ones, take a quick minutes to scan around you. Where are the lines? Can you make your photo better by either moving your kiddo, or moving yourself, so these lines will lead to them?
In the examples below, I’ve used red arrows to show where the lines in the photo are, and how they lead to the subject. When you are indoors, look for natural lines along the doorways, walls and stairs of you home. Using shadows too is a fun way to add interest to your image!
Outdoors, look for paths, and man-made elements such a fences and bridges.
One important tip when using leading lines, is that you want the lines to lead TO your subject not PAST your subject. You want the viewer’s eye to land on your subject, so the line should stop at your subject. You can see in the side-by-side comparison below, the left image is a stronger image. In the left image, the lines lead directly to my daughter, so your eye stops on her. With the right, the lines go high up on her (almost past her). This image would be stronger if I had let her take a few more steps away from me, or if I had crouched down a bit to point my camera up at her, so the lines could lead to her mid-body.
