How to Shoot Landscapes - Follow the line

Follow the line

In a two-dimensional medium we have to be clever if we want to give the viewer the sense of three dimensions. The secret is to tap into our perception of perspective and let the viewer's mind construct the depth from the clues we provide. One way is to ‘lead' the viewer's eye into the picture with a strong line, but only if it is leading somewhere or is interesting enough in its own right. Again, consider the implication of light and dark: a line that leads upwards towards the light gives the picture a more positive feel than one that leads downwards towards somewhere dark. Pictures shot with telephotos are even more in need of depth creation, and a line to follow can help relieve the effects of compression.

Those of us who use the Roman alphabet may be more comfortable following a line that goes from left to right.

Route 10 near Skalafjordur, Eysturoy, the Faroe Islands.