Gestalt Theory and Street Photography - Grouping to Simplify
I probably have a better chance at crafting my photography rather than spontaneously creating it. Sometimes I beat myself up a little bit about that. A lot of times I use magical thinking to believe it can be different for me. But you have to work with what you have got. For a long time, designers, more specifically graphic designers and most specifically web designers, have used the principals of Gestalt Theory to capture viewer attention. I want viewer attention for my photographs. So, why not me? Why shouldn’t I use Gestalt Principals to help get some extra “bang for my buck”?
As I have done a cursory study of Gestalt Theory this week, I have realized I have been dancing with its principles as applied to photography for a while. It consciously began with my encounter with the Figure to Ground relationship. Figure to Ground is one of the Gestalt Principals. I laugh at myself, even now, about my misunderstanding of that compositional concept.
Maybe more important, my brief study of the Principles of Gestalt Theory has given me the words to explain why some photos draw me more and others less. Bear with me here. Gestalt Theory, in its general glory, is a well-regarded psychological model about how organisms perceive things. I am a human organism and I do exactly what the model suggests that I do when I am making sense of the constant input of visual information. Sometimes my reactions to a visual image, a photo, are very much due to either the presence or absence of a Gestalt Principle compositional tool.
What is Gestalt Theory?
I am going to make this as short and sweet as possible.
It is a school of psychology that seeks to explain how the human mind perceives things as a whole rather than as individual parts.
It began in the 1920s in Austria and Germany
Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka applied the theory to the field of human perception.
The briefest, most coherent description I could find comes from the article, Gestalt Principles, which can be found on the website of the Interaction Design Foundation. “The Gestalt Principles are a set of laws arising from 1920s’ psychology, describing how humans typically see objects by grouping similar elements, recognizing patterns and simplifying complex images.”
How is Gestalt Theory relevant to street photography?
Humans have a preference for simplicity. Our minds strive for ordered pictures. What that means in street photography is that less is more. That may be the main reason street photographers often choose b&w over color. Color complicates a picture. Black and white simplifies it. Alas! Street photos are not inherently simple images. Here is where Gestalt Theory comes to the rescue. Humans unify parts of visual scenes to simplify images. Some of the Gestalt Principles tell us how we group elements to make a simpler image.
The Principle of Common Region
We tend to group objects within the same closed region.
The Principle of Proximity.
We tend to group objects that are near each other together. The good news is that photographers can use this human instinct to produce humor or warmth or other emotions. The bad news is that lines like trees behind a human head are interpreted by us as part of the head.
The Principle of Similarity
We tend to group similar items together. We make connections between non-connected elements through color, size, shape and pattern.
Photo by Paul Francis, known as Frank. Used with permission. You can see Frank’s gallery on Instagram at @frankandal and on his website at www.paulfrancis.photos
The Principle of Symmetry
We tend to group symmetric elements.
Photo by Lillis Atkins Werder. Used with Permission. “Double Date” You can see Lillis’ pictures on her Facebook gallery, Lillis Photography and on her website at Lillis Photography.
The symmetry does not have to perfect. If the entire image is symmetric, it tends to be not so interesting.
The Principle of Common Fate
We tend to group objects moving in the same direction.
Photo by Andy Lochrie. Used with permission. You can see Andy’s gallery on his Instagram account @guisboro.
I personally think this grouping that we do goes beyond just simplifying a visual image. I think we get positive feedback. When make a Gestalt connection, our brain congratulates us, just like it does when we are playing a video game and score.
Exercise
Review some of your pictures. Do you perceive groups in a manner that is consistent with Gestalt Theory?