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[Tip] How Concepts Taken From Cognitive Science Can Make Your Photography Better

“Whisper”, image credit: Eric Kim

Interesting article by street photographer Eric Kim about how concepts and ideas taken from the domain of cognitive sciences can help you shot better (read: more interesting) pictures. The article is well made, has a comprehensive introduction and still manages to be not too long. The article tries to tackle the following issues:

What makes a photograph memorable? What makes a photograph so powerful and so magical that it burns itself into our memories? Why do certain photographs withstand the history of time? Why do certain shots that are perfectly composed and framed are easily forgotten or dismissed? What makes a great photograph? How much of it is subjective vs objective? Is there a “science” behind making a memorable photograph?

These are important questions every photographer thought about at least once during his or her (photographic) life. The article is well-researched (though the author says it is not enough) and I think it is easily understandable also for those who don’t have a background in psychology or cognitive science. I won’t anticipate too much since I think this article is absolutely worth to be read. Let me just say that it goes over three main concepts that may be precious aids for your (street-) photography:

  1. We communicate with stories
  2. We seek patterns
  3. We look into the future

Each concept is analyzed and discussed with regard to photography. Sample images are provided. If you are into street photography (I am) then this article is a real must.


[via EK] [shariff]
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