Guiding the Eye

The viewer "travels" through an image. The composition should guide him on a certain way and leading him to all the interesting spots that tell the story.

• People "read" images similar to text: Left to Right in western culture
• thats probably why we see objects on the left side of an image as more "unstable"
• If you use the grid than this "way" is preferred for scenery: Entry point is the lower left point, travelling to the lower right where the main focal point is, curving up to the upper right and backwards to the upper left. (doesn't work well for portraits, where the main focus is better placed at the upper right point)
• prevent the viewer from "falling off" the image:
  • no important elements near the border
  • if there is a way in the image: Block it somehow with an object near the border
  • low detail and low contrast near the borders
  • a vignette
• use lines and edges to point towards focal points
• let depicted characters look towards focal points
• use action lines for figures, they show the flow of motion.
• use whitespace (low-detail-space) to give the eyes a resting place and to enhance high detailed areas