Leading the Eye with Visual Elements and Shapes

Hi everyone. I'm Ian Plant and I'm a professional nature and travel photographer. No matter where I go around the world or whatever I photograph I'm always thinking critically about composition. If you wanna make compelling photos that grab the viewer's attention and don't let go, then you need to learn to lead the eye. Your goal with every photo you make should be to capture the viewer's eye and entice the viewer to more deeply explore your composition. One of the most effective ways to do this is to use shapes and visual elements that lead the viewer's eye into the composition. If done properly, you can add depth and visual interest to your photos and invite the viewer into the scene that you have captured with your camera, giving them a feeling of being therein your photo. Leading elements can be just about anything. Including lines, curves or progression of objects or shapes. When selecting your compositions look for bold shapes that stretch from the foreground to the background of the image. These can powerfully propel a viewer deeper into the scene. Here are just a few examples of how this works. With this photo taken in the rainforest of the Pacific North West in the United States, I used the fallen mossy tree trunks to lead the eye from the foreground to the background of my composition. There is a lot of crazy chaos in this image and the three prominent trunks in the foreground help bring some much needed sense of structure to the visual design. I used the similar technique with this photo taken in the desert of Namibia. I got really close with my wide angle lens to some ripples in the sand which lead the eye to the shadow on the dune in the background. By getting close I was able to make the ripples look larger than they really were, enhancing their importance in the composition. For this street photo taken in Morocco, I used the architectural lines of the alley to lead the eye to the man walking past in the background. The leading lines also give the composition balance and some symmetry. For this photo of a small melt water stream passing through a glittering blue glacial tunnel in Iceland, the curve of the stream compels the eye to meander a bit throughout the image frame before coming to the background. The stream leads the viewer's eye to the hiker at the cave entrance. Coincidentally, the hiker is also an important element of the composition pulling the eye in deeper while the stream pushes. The two visual elements work together to get the viewer's eye moving. With this photo taken in the Patagonia region of Chile, I used the curve of an incoming wave to lead the eye to the mountains and stormy sky in the background. I took a lot of shots as the waves crashed on to the shore until I finally got a wave with a shape that mirrored the contour of the dramatic cloud above. Finally, for this aerial photo taken with my drone in the desert of South Central of Utah in United States, I used a progression of small hills to lead the eye to the dramatic maser in the background. I was careful to select a position where the hills were angled towards the maser directing the eye to the most important part of the composition. So the next time you are out there taking photos think carefully about ways you can lead the viewer's eye deeper into the scene. By doing so your photos are more likely to get noticed and stand out from the crowd. More importantly, you'll develop a deeper more meaningful connection with your viewers. I'm Ian Plan and thanks for watching.