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USING LEADING LINES IN PORTRAITURE FOR DRAMATIC RESULTS

Quick Guide
Written by Rhiannon D’Averc
 Leading lines draw the eye in a specific direction Here is what we will cover:
across the photograph. They are an important
compositional tool that will allow you to send a · Lead to your subject
message, control the viewer, or create a certain · Create compositional arrows
atmosphere within your shot.
· Leading lines in the body
Given that this tool is so effective, it’s easy to see
how it might come in handy in portraiture. If you · Lead with the eyes
want to make sure that your portraits pack more of
a punch, this is a fantastic idea to try. In this guide, · Avoid distracting lines
we’ll go through different types of leading lines and Recommended Reading: If you’d like to
how you can use them for effective portraits. improve your composition skills for better
images, grab a copy of Photzy’s best-selling
premium guide: Understanding Composition.

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 LEAD TO YOUR SUBJECT

The first and most important way you can use

leading lines is to point the viewer’s eyes in the
direction of your subject. You want to draw their
attention down towards where your subject sits
or stands, whether this means bringing a line
from the horizon down, across the image, or up
from the bottom of the frame. You can even use
diagonal lines. The important thing is that they
point directionally to your model.

There are lots of natural ways to make this

happen. A horizon line, trees that grow straight
or their branches pointing sideways, buildings,
signs, the road and the markings on it – all of
these elements and more can create leading
lines. Your job as the photographer is to figure
out where to place your model in the scene, and
how to crop the frame to make those leading
Photograph by Paul Cuoco lines point to the right place.
The lines of the floor lead us directly to this cute dog, the subject of the portrait.
Key Lesson: Using lines in the
background of your composition to point
towards your model will draw the viewer’s
eyes towards them, so long as the frame is
placed correctly.

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 CREATE COMPOSITIONAL
ARROWS

We can take leading lines a bit further by

creating triangular or arrow shapes pointing
towards the model, instead of simple lines.

How does this work? We can often use

the laws of perspective to make it happen.
If you look down a long, straight street,
you’ll see that it appears as though the
street narrows and the buildings get closer
together as you approach the horizon. A
diagonal line will cut across your image,
from the lower corner up to the central line.

Placing your model on this central line and

then adjusting your perspective, so that
you can also see the inverted ‘V’ of the sky,
can help you to make an arrow pointing at
your model. You can also use other lines
that may occur around you which naturally
create that same ‘v’ shape.

Key Lesson: A V-shape instead of

straight lines can also direct the eye,
creating an arrow pointing right at
your model.
Photograph by Karsten Winegeart

The angle of the furniture creates a V-shape with the lines of the flooring, pointing to the model.

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 LEADING LINES IN THE BODY

Portraits are all about showing a person in a certain

light. You might want to capture their beauty or
how they were at a certain moment in time; or you
might be trying to illustrate something particular
about them. Think, for example, of a portrait of a
famous musician, where you might want to draw
attention to their hands and the weathering they
have endured from playing an instrument.

So, how do we draw attention to the part of the

subject we want to focus on, be that hands, face, or
anything else? We use leading lines. And they don’t
have to be in the background. We can actually use
the subject’s own body to form these lines. The way
they hold their arms, for example, can give you the
chance to literally point to your area of focus.

Introducing a way for them to shape their body

(for example, a chair which can be used to raise
one knee higher than the other and create a sharp
angle) will also help with bringing this portrait
together.

Key Lesson: Pose your model in

deliberate ways so that you can draw the
viewer’s eyes to where you want them to look,
Photograph by Avi Richards
creating leading lines within the angles of the
Here, the model’s own arms form an arrow shape pointing up
body itself.
to her face, where we want the viewer to focus.

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 LEAD WITH THE EYES

As humans, we’re hardwired to look at what others seeing your image at a glance such as while driving
are looking at. After all, they might be looking at by a billboard, for example, or scrolling down their
food – or a nasty predator! Photographers can social media feed. Giving them that direction makes
exploit this evolutionary tic by asking their models to sure that their attention goes where you want it, with
look in a certain direction. everything you can possibly arrange pointing to that
same place.
You’ve seen it used hundreds – if not thousands –
of times, usually in advertising. Picture a billboard.
The young, attractive model is looking sideways at Key Lesson: Beef up your leading lines by
a product, usually smiling, and your eyes are also adding a directional glance from your model.
drawn across to look at that product. This is a clear The viewer will take both cues and look exactly
example of the technique in use, and it gets even where you want them to.
stronger if you can combine it with leading lines.

Our eyes are quite lazy. The brain tends to fill in a lot Recommended Reading: If you’d like to
of details that we don’t really properly take in. If it’s improve your composition skills for better
told where to look, it generally will. First impressions images, grab a copy of Photzy’s best-selling
are really powerful, especially if your viewer is only premium guide: Understanding Composition.

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 Photograph by Force Majeur

Notice how the leading lines across the background coincide with the direction of both of models’ eyes to draw the attention to the shirt logo.

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 AVOID DISTRACTING LINES

Learning to use leading lines also means

learning how not to use them.

A strong portrait can be derailed by a

leading line in the wrong place, even
if you weren’t intending to use leading
lines at all. If the lines point to a place
away from your model, you might end
up losing the viewer’s attention. The lines
may even point ‘through’ your model,
making the viewer skip over that part of
the image and continue.

Photograph by Louis Smit

In this photo, the man is pointing – but at what? Do you feel how your attention frays out in that blank space?

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 It’s important that you are mindful about your directions, it might have an unpleasant and unsettling
composition. It’s hard to view your own work effect on the viewer. If your aim with the image is to
subjectively, but try looking away – preferably at portray confusion or a disturbed mindset, it can be
something else, some unrelated image, so that you very effective. But if you’re trying to present a simple
are distracted – and then back. Where does your eye portrait, that could end up being very far from what
go first? You might find it hard to give up control of you get!
your eyes and stop forcing them to go where you
expect them to, so that you can learn where they Key Lesson: Always be aware of leading
move naturally, but with some practice you can start lines in your image, and make sure that they do
looking at your images in this way. not derail your image from its intended subject.
It’s also important to avoid confusing lines. If there
are lots of lines in the image going in all different

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 CONCLUSION

Leading lines are extremely effective

when done well. Remember these tips:

· Lines or arrows pointing towards the

model draw in the eye

· We’re hardwired to look at what

others are looking at

· Combining multiple leading lines

techniques will create a more
effective image

· Draw attention to one key part of

your image to create an effective
Photograph by Rhiannon D’Averc
portrait
Here the model’s pose creates leading lines pointing the viewer’s eyes to the intended subject — the model’s face. · Try to look at your images
subjectively and notice where your
eyes go

· Be aware of lines that trail off into

nowhere

· Too many lines can be too confusing

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 Self-Check Quiz:

1) What kind of shape is the most effective when drawing in the eye?

2) How can you use perspective to create leading lines?

3) What is a leading line?

4) What technique can you use to create a sense of confusion?

5) Where is the one place that leading lines should NOT lead?

6) How can you manage to look at your image subjectively and tell whether your leading lines are working?

7) Can you think of a pose that a model could try in order to draw attention to their face?

8) How can your model’s eyes assist in creating a leading line?

Learning Assignment:

Ask a model to pose for you in the city, or even outside in your own street. Practice moving around and using
the composition to draw attention to their face, their body as a whole, an item they are carrying, or so on. Try
compositions that use one leading line, that create arrow shapes, or that have as many leading lines as possible.

After several weeks, when you have fully forgotten what the images look like, take a look at them again. This time,
try to track where your eyes move when you look at them in those first few moments. Which techniques are the
most effective? Which are the least effective?

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Congratulations! You’ve completed
this Photzy guide!

If you liked this photography tutorial,

check out this premium composition
guide to help you better compose
images: Understanding Composition.

Rhiannon D’Averc is a fashion and portrait photographer, as

well as a published author. She is the Chief Editor of London
Runway, an indie fashion magazine.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhiannonDAverc

Studio: http://pcistudio.co.uk/ IF YOU’D LIKE TO CONTINUE

Website: https://rhiannondaverc.co.uk/
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LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rhiannondaverc
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