Photography - Gestalt principles

Similarity

when elements are similar, they are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar. Similarity helps us to organise and visually connect objects within a group.

Example: an image of an old stadium, all yellow chairs and there was a girl sitting there. Basically, you put all the yellow chairs together because they are similar and she was the outlier to draw attention to her

Proximity

When elements are close together, they are perceived to be more related than things that are spaced further apart. Proximity can override similarity

Figure and ground

relationship between dominant and non-dominant elements in a composition when we perceive a visual image.

Continuation

Objects aligned in a linear or curved composition are perceived to have unity. We are more likely to perceive these objects as being connected, therefore leading our eye and directing our focus

Closure

within a complex arrangement of visual elements we tend to look for a single, recognisable pattern. We then perceive segmented components as complete of whole objects, even when we’re missing information

Example: you don’t need to see the whole object to know what it is. If you were to see the middle of the flower (not seeing petals) you would know it’s a flower.