image appeal (Science, any reading?)

limeblu

I am trying to piece together a theory as to what makes an image desirable/popular. It seems that images containing certain elements attract most attention most of the time. But there is always exceptions, always. Has anyone studied this or can anyone lead me to any studies/ reading on the subject. Opinions, comments or personal experience greatly appreciated. I have a history in art theory and fine art but photography added a new level.

WestEndFoto

One element that I am certain will attract the most attention is a scantily clad beautiful female.

Does this qualify?

limeblu

Lol it is surely a very popular aspect of many images, I personally could ponder all aspects of their beauty. I am thinking of some of the less obvious aspects, but I like your approach Westend!

sevencrossing

some further reading
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/xhp/

Rx4Photo

I think photo appeal is a very multi-faceted thing and although I haven't yet looked, there's likely some writeups on the psychology behind it all. It all probably involves neurosensory triggers in each individual's brain that creates the attractiveness of one photo over another. How one perceives beauty (and I don't exclusively mean male to female or vice versa) is probably as different as our personalities.

In terms of photography I think a major force is composition and how light is utilized or rendered on the image. There are photographers out there who could take a picture of a pencil on a table and make it totally creative and unique, and others who could take a picture of a scantily clad woman and totally screw it up. In terms of people shots, females in particular, I much prefer a well posed subject in good fashionable clothing in a really cool and creatively lit environment than someone poorly posed no matter what they have on.

Many, many, many years ago when I was a kid my mother had a monthly subscription to "Psychology Today" magazine and I often wondered what she got from it. Now I wish I could peek at some of them.

donaldejose

If we knew we all could be better photographers. I suspect different people with different life experiences are attracted to different things for many different reasons. Thus, I doubt a good theory can be assembled. The closest I know of involves composition. Certain generic compositions seem to attract people. As far as subjects go, the attraction is likely to be specific to the life experience and values of the viewer. In other words, we find beauty in things we like while other people find no beauty there at all.

WestEndFoto

If you are thinking about this, you might spend some time looking at Flickr's explore. There are certainly duds in there and great shots missed, but if you want to apply the scientific principle to this subject, this is as close as you will get, as it is a poll of sorts.

michael66

I am trying to piece together a theory as to what makes an image desirable/popular.

Hmmmm... Good luck with that. But I do find people's opinions on the interesting.

I think the answers lie in the same part of the brain as to why you are attracted to one woman ( or man ) and not another, whereas someone else feels the other way.

Have you ever taken a series of shots of the same scene, the only difference being a few moments in time and your position or the lighting changes or maybe the wind shifts. One shot is incredible and the another is boring. To make matters worse, you show them to someone else and they have the reverse opinion.

ggbutcher

Here's someone who has apparently studied the topic extensively:

http://users.rider.edu/~suler/photopsy/article_index.htm

I googled "composition psychology", and his site was the top entry. A rather rich source; I bookmarked it...

PB_PM

I agree with @PitchBlack When it comes to photos one mans garbage is another mans treasure, and so on and so forth.

Rx4Photo

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kyoshinikon

Photography is so subjective that it is hard to pin down to one thing. Some people like coke, others Pepsi, some hate either and stick to root beer. I for the most part am also in @PitchBlack's boat.

There are some things tho that make an image appealing to the majority. Images composed to the rule of thirds and the fibonacci spiral often hold interest longer than those who dont. Images with a good use of color or contrast are also more engaging. Interesting read Rx4Photo...

Hammie

I think a photo needs to have emotion. This can come from the scene of the photo. It can come from bringing back a memory for the person looking at the photo. It can come from a person or persons expressions in the photo. Sometimes, a photo can depict the emotional state of the photographer.

However, you flip it, this is how I judge a good photo from a bad one. I will often overlook "bad" aspects of a photo if there is emotion.

But remember, not everyone reacts the same way emotionally to the same thing. Seeing a picture of a jaguar making a kill to one person as elegant, graceful, powerful, may cause a grotesque feeling. However, both viewers had an emotional response. As a photographer, you succeeded. As a viewer, the positive emotion response will cause you to like it.

It's late so I am hoping that this makes sense. I am not going to go over and proofread it. I'm going to try to get some sleep now.

NSXTypeR

I'd have to agree with the "One man's garbage is another man's treasure." ideal. When you take photos, just as you do for comedy, you need to consider your audience. If you're talking to a French audience and all you're speaking is Parsi, you're going to have problems.

Same thing with photography- your macro photos of spiders isn't going to go over well in a guaranteed 100% arachnophobic society, no matter how nice you think they are.

ThomasHorton

The book "the Photographer's Mind" by Freeeman is a good one.

Msmoto

And, the answer is here:
http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/subjectivity

We all see the world from our own perspective and this is what determines our likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, one cannot develop psychological insight from simply being instructed, but must come to these ends via a search of one's psychological make up. Psychotherapy is one avenue to develop insight, but without insight we tend to believe we are correct and others may not be correct. This is the problem in determining what we think is good and what is not.

And, our opinions are so fixed in many cases, we are unable to see the perspective of another. While we can "learn" certain technical aspects of good images, we cannot make judgements based soloed on our "unbiased" observations. We are always influenced by unconscious psychological factors.

Any questions on my opinion can also be made via PM if so desired.