From the course: Learning to Critique Photos

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How the visual weight of an image affects the interpretation

How the visual weight of an image affects the interpretation

From the course: Learning to Critique Photos

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How the visual weight of an image affects the interpretation

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- The idea of visual weight is hard for some people to visualize because it really is an abstract concept. Visual weight is more about the power of certain parts of the scene to attract and keep the viewer's attention. Light plays an important role, but so too does color. Certain colors have more visual weight than others. Think of visual weight as a magnet attracting the viewer's attention to the particular area of the scene. These magnetic forces that attract the viewer's attention also include focus and tone. Light tones attract the viewer's attention more than dark tones. Aside from focused areas, the eye is also attracted to the lightest areas of the scene which is why post-processing can play a crucial role in enhancement of your strongest images. By lightening and darkening areas of the image, we can add or de-emphasize those areas for effect. So take a look at this image here, actually these three images. The beautiful girl in green. I think because of the nature of the…

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