Photographic Impact

oriecat · Mar 29, 2004

I recently got a comment about a photo on my website, wherein the commenter said that at first the photo didn't really do much for him and he was all ready to move along, when he got a phone call which kept him occupied for a while and he ended up studying the photo more while he was on the phone and he came to really appreciate it, in fact told me it was probably his favorite of my photos. That got me thinking about how photos make their impact, how sometimes they immediate hit you , and other times they need longer to wind their way into your subconscious or something. It is one of the beautys of art, how if given more time they can come to have a greater affect on us. Do we always give an artwork the time it might need? I am sure we don't. How can we tell when something actually is "pass-by-able" or when we should study it more? These are some of the thoughts the recent comment inspired me in. Discuss!

ksmattfish · Mar 29, 2004

One of my early mentors was of the philosophy that it's not important if a viewer likes or dislikes a photo, it's wether or not they will give it more than 30 seconds of their time. Just go to any art gallery or museum; most folks stroll along, going from photo to photo (painting to painting), without really looking for very long at any one piece. My mentor felt that even if someone hated his work, if they actually take the time to really look at the photo, then it's a good photo.

terri · Mar 29, 2004

The best part of exhibiting for me is at opening night when lots of people show up. I like to stand across the room and watch people move along and see if my stuff gets more than a token glance. I've exhibited twice: one SX-70 hand colored thingy that actually became the topic of an energetic discussion over how it was done (I eventually intervened because they were SO far off) and the other was an infrared where it DID get its token 30 seconds by several people.

It's hella satisfying to see your stuff get studied like that, in a gallery setting.

Big Mike · Mar 29, 2004

I think that some of a picture's ability to initially hold a person's eyes has to do with the lines & shapes, or it's overall Gestalt.

a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts

If the image has a path that the eye can travel to a focal point and around the image without "getting kicked out"...it will hold the viewer's eye for a longer period initially.