PH1 Art Legare
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Figure 5-12.–Leading lines.
eliminating other qualities of the shape, such as texture
and roundness, or the illusion of the third dimension.
Lines
Lines can be effective elements of composition,
because they give structure to your photographs. Lines
can unify composition by directing the viewer's eyes
and attention to the main point of the picture or lead the
eyes from one part of the picture to another. They can
lead the eyes to infinity, divide the picture, and create
patterns. Through linear perspective, lines can lend a
sense of depth to a photograph. (Linear perspective
causes receding parallel lines to appear to converge in
the picture. This allows you to create an illusion of depth
in your pictures.)
The viewer's eyes tend to follow lines into the
picture (or out of the picture) regardless of whether they
are simple linear elements such as fences, roads, and a
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