Create emotional impact in your photography!
Walking past this Tiffany’s jewelry store, I was immediately drawn to their window displays. Now, I am usually drawn to displays of high-tech toys and cameras and stuff … not displays of jewelry stores. But these window displays were eye-catching and effective. It made me stop to take a closer look.
The photograph above is of one of the six display windows. And it should be immediately obvious why these simple displays have such impact – there is a very clear appeal to your emotions.
If you look at this display window – the sidewalk advert for the business – you should be struck by its utter simplicity. The material cost is very low. Yet it is highly effective.
me <—> you …. the far-away distance & the ring
Instead of opting for a glitzy display, they went for something that speaks to everyone, regardless of income and status. Everyone who has ever been in love can relate to this.
Emotional impact in photography
This made me think of how this translates to our photography. Which are the images that linger that we see in magazines, books or the internet? While the intricate imagery that were taken with whizz-bang-wow setups and technology will astonish and impress us … I really do believe that the images that linger with us far longer, are those that speak to us emotionally.
It could be a photo of a loved one. A parent. A child. It could be a memory of a time or place. But the images linger in our mind.
The simplicity or complexity of the photographs may have little to do in the end with how memorable the image is … it is the emotional impact that counts.
As photographers we often get caught up in trying to create images which are technically astonishing. And while the resulting photograph might be very pretty, I’m not sure they will have the same long-term impact as the images which we make an emotional connection with.
For myself, I relate this to my approach to wedding photography. I’m there to record the day’s events, creating images which will have lasting value to everyone who was there with the bride and groom on their day. I think this is also why I have shied away from over-processed images with my wedding photography. No textures and actions – just the photographs themselves. I feel the images should stand up on their own, without being ‘glitzified’ in Photoshop. In fact, by not processing images with the latest fad action set, the images have a greater chance of remaining timeless.
Finally, these window displays reinforced the idea again with me that we should strive to create images with real pull. Real impact. Images that appeal to the emotions.
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Indeed! Very well said, Neil! As they say, simplicity is beauty or for us photographers they say, “K.I.S.S.” which translates to “Keep It Simple Stupid”.
More power to you, Neil! I really enjoy reading your site.
Cheers!
Hi Neil – AGREED! (yes, I’m shouting, from the rooftops). I read somewhere that if technique overshadows the emotive subject matter, then the photograph has failed. Thus your belief that the images should be “timeless” rather that “glitzified” in Photoshop supports the idea of emotive art instead of software technique.
Love your work..
Yes. Can’t understand the current trend to make digital photos look old or cross-processed etc. It’s just weird when you know there’s a perfectly good photo under there somewhere.
Your site is just awesome. Very informative for someone who just started to pick up photography as a hobby like me. I love this post. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
well said Neil! I so totally agree with your philosophy and I am proud to say that my views about most images and processing are very similar to yours.
Hi,
that is what i call “emotional layer”. Without any presence of emotions, relation to what you are taking pictures from, it is only a plain and dull set of people and/or colors. The “Boom Boom Boom” Heartbeat effect is missing.
Neil, your example is it ! We can see an emotional relation and the way you took it, well, shows your own sense of emotional approach to pictures your are taking.
Well done…
Klaus
G’day Neil
Funny thing is it’s much easier to make a cluttered image than one that has a simple composition. The simple composition will always be better because some thought was required to identify and eliminate all that was not necessary to the story the photographer wants to tell. The cluttered image requires the viewer to break down the image to understand the meaning. Often they won’t bother or will never discover the meaning through the clutter.
Cheers
William Cowan