Leading Lines and the Rule of Thirds

Leading lines are the lines within an image or a shot taken with a camera, that leads the eye of the viewer to another point in the image, or out of the image. Anything within the image which has a definite line, can be classed as a leading line.

To achieve the correct leading line, you need to make sure that you have applied the rule of thirds correctly, to ensure that your shot has been made strongly. You can achieve a leading line shot by using objects such as  Fences, Bridges, Railway Tracks etc.

These images demonstrate the idea of leading lines; leading the eye of the viewer to another point in the image, or out of the image.

This is a picture of my friend and myself along a railway track. To understand and increase my knowledge of leading lines, I went out with a friend, to find locations in which have them, to fully understand the idea of a view leading the eye to another point in the image or out of the image. We had taken several shots of the railway, but this picture worked exceedingly well, because it shows the space in front of us as to where we are leading ourselves to, and the space where we had come from, which leads the viewers eye to another point in the picture. As this picture worked so well, I am going to take this into mind, as I could use this location for my music video. 

This was another picture I had taken, to also understand and increase my knowledge of leading lines. However, due to the harsh contrast and over exposure within the picture due to the sunlight, the leading lines are harder to see, therefore this would not be ideal, when shooting my music video. 

The rule of thirds is the idea that within the camera shot, there should be a guideline which proposes an image divided into nine equal parts, by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. By doing this, this creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply placing the camera in the middle of the shot.

The picture below is a great example of the guideline of the rule of thirds. As you may see, the tree is placed more towards the right side of the picture, developing a shot in which you can see leading lines within the distance. If the tree had been placed in the centre of the shot, the image would appear as dull, not increasing and allowing the ways in which you can view the image.