Which catches your eye first – Light, Color or Gesture?

[jklofft]

Jay Maisel talks about light, color and gesture as aspects of a great photograph. Sometimes one of these three is so powerful that we are drawn to take a photograph, but most of the time it seems our brain is wired to focus first on just one of the three. So when you out and about, which generally catches your photographic eye first?

 

[euua]

think about this now i would say - colour and light first

 

[cwilt]

It depends on what I am shooting. If its people its gesture first then light. I usually see these in black and white so color is an after thought. For landscapes its all about light and color. Animals are a combination.

 

[Domdog31]

hands down light - before my eyes can even focus on the subject its the way the light paints the image that catches my eye...

With that said - a picture of a beautiful woman will always draw my eye regardless of light, color or gesture =)

 

[rbsinto]

Gesture.
I'm a street-shooter so for me it's all about the story. So even if the colour and light are less than optimal, for me the story trumps all.

 

[Debbie H]

Yes I would say light first then color.

 

[Seneca]

Always light...it's the one thing that I as a photographer would like to master. I have a friend who is a master photographer, he shoots all times of the day and does it so beautifully. Doesn't matter how bright the sun is shining down, he manages to get perfect, not blown out shots. Of course he does have 2 assistants too. That's what happens when your a $500,000 a year photographer. Geez.

 

[ShaunK]

I voted light, but in my mind, light and color are to closely connected to separate, at least from the color perspective. Color is so dependent upon the lighting. Poor lighting, flat lighting will affect the color. So I guess light first, then color, then gesture.

 

[Ryan_T]

Light.

Which is somewhat disappointing when nothing good can be made out of it. Sometimes there is such a thing as uninteresting or unattractive subjects, no matter how much good light is on it.

 

[Joseph]

Without light, you cannot see color and gesture :wink:

 

[HenryVIII]

Gesture.

Joseph, that kind of light is a given, like gravity. I believe the OP was asking about it from a technical and compositional perspective.

 

[jklofft]

Yes, thank you

 

[Rob Zijlstra]

Light, light and after that light!

 

[camerapapi]

It is true that colors, especially warm colors, tend to catch our eyes but, when the media was b&w, light was what inspired a photographer to take good pictures. Obviously, light brings out tonalities but I will not discuss that.
"Concentrate on seeing the nuisances of light and your pictures will stir the soul."
Jack Dykinga.

William Rodriguez
Miami, Florida.

 

[Joseph]

Joseph, that kind of light is a given, like gravity. I believe the OP was asking about it from a technical and compositional perspective.

oh okay.. it's still light for me. I almost rarely notice a nice gesture or color, but no matter how flat the scene is, if the light is dramatic, it's guaranteed to catch my attention.

 

[twistedlogic]

oh okay.. it's still light for me. I almost rarely notice a nice gesture or color, but no matter how flat the scene is, if the light is dramatic, it's guaranteed to catch my attention.

Same here. Not until I review my images on screen do I notice the colors and how they affect me. I need to start working on that pre-shutter release, :smile:.