Lead room
Empty space left in front of where a person looks or an object moves, so the gaze or action has somewhere to go.
See it
What it is
Lead room is the space left in front of a gaze or a moving subject. A runner heading right needs more frame on the right; a portrait looking left needs room between the eyes and the left edge. The empty area lets the implied action continue instead of crashing into the crop.
Reach for it in profiles, interviews, sport, vehicles, and any frame where direction matters. Place the subject on the opposite third and use the open side for landscape, context, or copy that the gaze can quietly point toward.
Gotcha: lead room follows direction, not a fixed left or right rule. Leave it behind the subject and the frame feels as if something is chasing them. Leave too much and the person looks stranded. Responsive crops are especially good at eating this space, so check the safe area.
Ask AI for it
Use lead-room composition with a rule-of-thirds grid: place the right-facing subject on the left vertical third and reserve the right half as clean space in front of the eyes or motion. Keep less room behind the subject than ahead, prevent the nose or moving edge from approaching the crop, and aim every background line into the open side.