What goes wrong when you look at a photo

Saturday 17 April 2021, 14:41 by Elvira Smit | 5,828 views | 6 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

You see hundreds of photos every day. You barely look at most of them for longer than a second. In a museum, you get another six seconds. Useless if you want to improve your photography.

So here are two tips for really looking at a photo. Plus an explanation of the photo below.

Thinking you understand something

As soon as you look at a photo, you try to interpret it straight away, unconsciously. This phenomenon is similar to how we sometimes 'listen':

Someone tells you something, but you barely listen any more, because you already know what the other person wants to say. Meanwhile, you are already thinking about what you want to tell them next. Or rather, that's what you think you know.

The moment you think you understand something is called closure by the author of The Online Photographer:

'Closure is what happens when you think you understand something well enough, and don't think you need to understand it any better - so you stop trying. You close down.'

The value of closure in photos

We think we understand many photos almost immediately. And in many cases, that's true: advertising photos are made to make you realise in one second that you will become a happier person if you buy product X. And newspaper photos, if all is well, also speak for themselves.

Because most photos are so self-explanatory, you are inclined to treat all photos that way. You look, judge, and move on.

Giving a photo your full attention requires a conscious choice. And every time I really have to make that choice, it feels like homework. We are visually minded creatures and think we understand everything and have seen everything at a glance. So here are two tips to help you get started.

Tip 1: Look more carefully at photos you receive via WhatsApp

Everyone receives photos via WhatsApp, photos taken by friends and family. I make a sport of noticing something in these photos that the person who took the photo was unaware of.

Such as the reflection of the phone in someone's sunglasses, objects unintentionally lying in the frame, or something happening in the background. This forces me to look for a few seconds longer. Sometimes it provides amusing insights into someone's life.

Tip 2: Look at one photo for two minutes

This is a difficult one. Because two minutes is a long time for one photo. In that time, you can leaf through an entire photobook and think you understand it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ideally, use a printed photo for this, for example from a photobook by a photographer you admire.

Are you a hyper-efficient creature and do these two minutes feel like wasted time? Then combine it with brushing your teeth, which you do every day anyway, I hope.

By looking at the same thing for longer, you notice more. You start making freer associations and focus not just on what you see, but also on what it means. Anyway, see what comes up for you.

About the photo above this article

Last year, I went for a walk around a lake somewhere in France. This was during the coronavirus interlude, which at the time we still hopefully thought would not be an interlude at all.

Anyway, I saw a Barbie doll lying on a rubbish bin along the way. A strange sight that, at least for me, raised a question. Why that doll, why here, and why does it look as if someone has staged this?

The photo directly above is not the same as the photo above this article. Scroll back up and have a look.

The viewpoint is different. At the location, I spent a long time looking for the right viewpoint to throw the viewer off the scent, just for a moment.

I think I succeeded better in the first photo in this article. In photo 2, you can immediately tell from the proportions between the doll and the container that it cannot be a real woman.

And what I also like better about the first photo: the bush on the right is the same colour as the Barbie doll's dress. But I don't think you noticed that when you glanced at it.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Ik heb een eigen fotografieblog, Kronkeling. Daar schrijf ik om de week twee artikelen. Over hoe je je blik kunt scherpen, je creativiteit kunt aanwakkeren, en over fotografen die mij inspireren. Geen technische zaken, wél over hoe je leert kijken. En dat blijkt nog een hele klus. Een mooi startpunt zijn de Kronkeltips, die vind je hier.

Why do you get so tired in a museum?
by Elvira Smit
Wrong settings or just not optimal settings?
by Nando Harmsen
Handy tool for cleaning up your Lightroom Classic backups
by Elja Trum
Which Colour Profile Should You Use for Your Photos?
by Nando Harmsen
Anyone who says the camera isn't important is wrong
by Nando Harmsen
Street photography tip: Nothing wrong with a phone photo
by Michiel Heijmans

Show every article in Inspiration

home

6 comments

guest wrote on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 12:39 | reply
What you write is true, I too am often guilty of just taking a quick look and moving on.
A nice tip to bring about a change in that, although I sometimes already looked at a photo for longer, but often not long enough, I think.

As for the differences, they had immediately caught my eye, and I also saw almost immediately that it couldn't be a real woman, not so much because of the proportions, but mainly the face immediately told me that it wasn't a real person.
Translated from Dutch.

Mario Bentvelsen wrote on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 14:08 | reply
Good point. I also always try to take photos that 'reveal' something extra upon closer inspection, a reward for looking longer. In this respect, I can also recommend photo detective Hans Aarsman.
Translated from Dutch.

Elvira Smit wrote on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 19:14 | reply
@guest: Nice to hear that you sometimes look at a photo for a bit longer. And indeed, you don't have to look at the photos from the article for too long to see the differences either
@ Mario: Good tip and addition, Hans Aarsman is indeed a master at looking for longer and discovering things that others don't see. He can also write well about that, as evidenced by his books.
Translated from Dutch.

René Peterse wrote on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 22:10 | reply
I can linger over a photo “endlessly”. I then enjoy small things, details, or whatever may not be the subject but brings atmosphere. That atmosphere then draws me into the photo. When I photograph, I try to capture that atmosphere. And that can sometimes be almost abstract too. By zooming in on a reflection or something like that. That is enjoyment for me.
Translated from Dutch.

guest wrote on Wednesday 21 April 2021 at 09:12 | reply
Nice to be pointed out in this way how you can look at photos.
I just don't do it while brushing my teeth, it gives those white spots
Translated from Dutch.

Laura van der Burgt wrote on Saturday 8 May 2021 at 20:13 | reply
Interesting piece, Elvira! A noble task for the photographer to deliberately lead us astray. I would also like to do that more.
Translated from Dutch.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,079 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by