Another leading lines question..... :D

[lemon]

Hello everyone!

So, I am at the assignment for leading lines, and was wondering if this photo qualified... and also a little critique wouldn't hurt either..;)

Thanks!

[dkippen]

Lemon - I'm not very good at critique, but I'll give it my best shot. If I were to use this for a leading line, I would go lower and get more of the edge of the flower. Also, it appears the inside of the flower is more sharp and in focus than the rest of the flower. Is this a crop?

[lemon]

Nope, this is not a crop... and I was focusing on the little hair thingys in the middle, as I found them very interesting... should I have made the whole flower in focus then, and how would I have done that? Thank you for taking a look.. :)

[dkippen]

Lemon - Final result will depend on what you are trying to achieve and in the world of photography, every one who looks at this photo will have a different opinion - not that any one opinion is wrong. In some instances, focusing on the middle is great - if that's the effect you want. In that case, I would have gotten in closer and shot more of that area with just a small portion of the petal, rather than getting that whole area along with the flower petal. Again, that is just my opinion - someone else may see it differently. With this hobby - getting different viewpoints will open our eyes to seeing something at a different angle or light or a view that we may never have thought of.

To get the whole flower in focus, try experimenting with your aperture. If I remember right, and I hope some corrects me if I'm wrong, use a larger aperature number to get more of the flower in focus and use manual exposure rather than auto. And of course, use a tripod. With digital, the only thing it will cost is the time spent experimenting. Have fun with it - play with the controls. You may end up with something you never expected.

[lemon]

Thank you very much! I think that I will get out the tripod! I'm not sure what my aperture was, but I think that it was wide open... I will check that.. however, I know that I didn't use a tripod, but I'm not too sure if mine will go down that far... oh well I will give it a try and see what I can come up with. Thank you so much for your time!

[dkippen]

Lemon - a tripod or some way of stabilizing the camera is ESSENTIAL when trying close up shots like this as movement of any type, including pressing the shutter, will affect the outcome. Also, if your camera has mirror lockup and/or you have a remote shutter release cable, those will help as well. Mirror lock up is a two-part function. When you push the shutter button, the shutter opens, then press the shutter button again to "snap" the photo. This will also help eliminate or reduce any camera shake.

Have fun!!!

[rjoh]

Hi Lemon - to me the general idea of 'leading lines' in photography is to use something e.g. a pathway or the railing of a fence - to lead the eyes to the central object of interest - (to the point that to view the photograph you can't help but look at the object). It could be a person, people or some other item/s of interest but the leading line/s purpose is to draw attention to the main element. Hope that helps? Keep on keeping on.

- the pic I attached is not a great example but it does use the leading line concept with the low angle of the pathway leading the eyes to the simple structure and then beyond that to the railway bridge - what do you think?:)

[jesse]

Hi rjoh,
I'm new to this. I think the lines in the photo are great. Maybe you could squared the picture up to cut off the right side a bit, have a person sitting on the bench reading a newspaper. It wouldn't hurt to hose down the sidewalk or wait untill after a good rain. I think the water would give it a good feel. Maybe during a light rain? I just thought.... if you could get a large dog to sit on the bench while it's raining that would be a good shot lol

Jesse

[lemon]

Okay, so I changed my view on leading lines for this assignment and grabbed a few kids a chair and headed off to the train tracks by my husbands work. I got quite a few pictures.. below I posted a few of the better ones, and would like your input on which you'd submit.

Thanks :)

[dkippen]

Lemon - while I'm not an expert, I think the 2nd shot will work better for your leading lines.

[CallMeNovice]

Okay, so I changed my view on leading lines for this assignment and grabbed a few kids a chair and headed off to the train tracks by my husbands work. I got quite a few pictures.. below I posted a few of the better ones, and would like your input on which you'd submit.

Thanks :)

I, too, like the second shot. The lines are leading TO the subject, instead of away from the subject

[ladyups]

Hi Lemon...I'm in agreement with Debbie...the second shot is the best in terms of leading lines. The lines lead to the girls in the background. The third one of the girl in the front draws my eyes away from the subject because I'm following the lines out of the image.

[rjoh]

Hi rjoh,
I'm new to this. I think the lines in the photo are great. Maybe you could squared the picture up to cut off the right side a bit, have a person sitting on the bench reading a newspaper. It wouldn't hurt to hose down the sidewalk or wait untill after a good rain. I think the water would give it a good feel. Maybe during a light rain? I just thought.... if you could get a large dog to sit on the bench while it's raining that would be a good shot lol

Jesse
Yes thanks Jesse that is fair comment - i think one of the hardest things when shooting leading lines is to also keep in mind the rule of thirds. rjoh