Composition
Composition and Perception - Introduction
Composition and perception are vital for every painter, photographer, 3D modeler, designer, abstract artist, realist painter, camera man, fashion designer, architect... everyone who wants his work to BE SEEN. When doing research on composition and the impact of images I couldn't find scientific theories about it. Except the Gestalt Laws, but they don't really tell you how to produce an eyecatcher. There are however a lot of unsystematic tips and tricks and tools you can use. I will list them further down the page, lat's start with a bunch of questions:
- Does the viewer understand / read my image?
- How can I improve the readability of an image?
- Where does the viewer look first?
- How can I direct the viewers eye?
- How to make things pop?
- How to make an eyecatcher?
- What does the viewer feel?
- And how can I improve/direct the feelings of the viewer?
To make things even worse all those composition rules and all those Gestalt laws aren't rules or laws. They explain how we perceive things, but they do not dictate "right or wrong". Example: "Assymetric composed images are more interesting". But this doesn't mean that symmetric images are forbidden - They just have a different impression.
The first pages are "common knowledge" you probably heard before. The chapters with "Advanced Composition" present are more theoretical approach.
Illustrations are made with Aviary.com and the Image Editor module for Drupal.