ESFotoClix Blog

Including a pathway in your image often helps as a handle to the viewer, providing an entry point into the image as well as a guide through it. The simplest example is that of straight lines, among which, strong diagonals are my favorite.

In this example, I framed at least one of these as a strong diagonal that starts at one corner of the frame and takes the viewer to the background, the photo’s punchline, where all the drama is taking place between those mountains and stormy sky. Notice how along the way, the strong diagonal component lends a dynamic feel to the image, even though nothing’s moving.

A variation on the theme happens when we use curves rather than straight lines. The S-curve stands as the most typical use of curved leading lines, as this next sample shows. Here, again, the point is to guide the viewer to the mountains and sky, and here, too, I chose to start the curve at the corner of the frame, a favorite trick of mine to create a more dynamic feel.

Of course there’s nothing that says that rather than leading the viewer to the distant background, one cannot instead portray a journey where the subject — leaf autumn color, in this next example — is all around the path.

Notice how for all three images I avoided standing in the middle of the pathway, and in fact chose to shoot from one side of it. You will see images of roads, for instance, where the photographer stood on the center line. Aside from being an accident waiting to happen, I find such shots mildly compelling but somewhat static. Shot from one side of the road or path, the image becomes less symmetrical, and the imbalance (sometimes balanced by something else on the opposite side) creates a more dynamic feel. (Hmm, how many times can I say “dynamic feel” in one article?) Try using pathways in your photographs and see how it works for you.