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Composition & Visual Design

Leading Lines

Lines within a scene that guide the viewer's eye from one part of the frame toward the subject.

In depth

The eye follows continuity, so any linear feature — a road, a fence, a shadow, a shoreline — will be traced from wherever it enters the frame. The device only works if the line ends somewhere worth arriving at; a strong leading line pointing at nothing carries the viewer straight out of the picture.

Examples in practice

A jetty running from the bottom corner to a distant boat gives the eye a route into the frame and a destination.