Does orientation matter? The same image? (Page 5): In the western world we read left to right. I other parts of the world the read right to left. How you read is how your eye tends to...

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

In the western world we read left to right. I other parts of the world the read right to left. How you read is how your eye tends to want to focus and move. In printed material, editors place photos so the eye goes from the edge of the page to the gutter (center fold). They will flip a photo so that the eye does not fall off the page.

john451 Loc: Lady's Island, SC/Columbia, SC

In all of the images posted including the original post, I prefer the subject facing left.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

JimBart wrote:

Probably the case Longshadow plus they’ll be the ones who do all the hassling because rules weren’t followed.
As we’re learning as we get older some rules can be broken

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

clickety wrote:

There have been discussions about whether we see from left to right or from right to left. Here is an image which after cropping I simply flipped from left to right, I sense it has changed. Do you see the difference and which do you prefer and why. Bonus points if you can tell me which was the original orientation?

I’m generally speaking ok with either. Although I have friends that will always say it should be one or the other. In the case I do prefer the second but I think it has more to do with the crop. I always leave more in front than behind, but this is way out of proportion. Way too much in front and cramped behind.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

clickety wrote:

There have been discussions about whether we see from left to right or from right to left. Here is an image which after cropping I simply flipped from left to right, I sense it has changed. Do you see the difference and which do you prefer and why. Bonus points if you can tell me which was the original orientation?

This is a toughie, but here goes. IMHO the second image, with the bird facing the left side is more apt to keep the viewers attention in the scene. Most in the Western World scan left-to-right and in this instance the presence of there bird on the right hand side keeps the eyes from drifting out of the scene. Just my $0.02 for whatever it's worth after inflation.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

kenArchi wrote:

I did that to client's portrait..... she didn't know it was reversed at first....

The flipped image is what she sees every time she looks in the mirror.

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

clickety wrote:

There have been discussions about whether we see from left to right or from right to left. Here is an image which after cropping I simply flipped from left to right, I sense it has changed. Do you see the difference and which do you prefer and why. Bonus points if you can tell me which was the original orientation?

I was surprised that I liked the second better, and then I realized that the water is flowing like a leading line going left to right to the bird in the second; maybe that's why I liked it better, maybe something else.

koratcat

Longshadow wrote:

I prefer the first. Movement to the right.
Possibly because I read from left to right?

But I do like both.

I have a strong preference for #1. My eye just wants to move from left to right (the direction in which I read). I even imagine the image with a "title" of some kind on it, and I want those words on the right ("after" the image) as opposed to on the left (i.e., leading "into" the image).

Guessing which is the original is really difficult for me, but a subliminal feeling says that #2 is just a little bit "off" and #1 is the original.

goofybruce

I didn't take time to read through five pages of responses (only the first two), but here's my two Lincoln Heads worth... I don't feel a difference in the pictures, maybe because I am left handed. My thinking only is where/how is the photo to be used? On a right hand page in a photo album? Framed and hung on a wall? Which takes precedence... where the water flows (into the book or out) and where is the bird looking (into the book's center or out into the world) Same on the wall, water flowing into the corner or bird looking into the corner. It would seem to me (maybe in my 'leftie' thinking, that the more important viewpoint would be which way is the gull looking. After all, it is an animate object. Adds some mystery to the photo, what is the gull looking at? Water, on the other hand, flows with gravity and in this photo, is the background. Other than that, neat picture.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

koratcat wrote:

I have a strong preference for #1. My eye just wants to move from left to right (the direction in which I read). I even imagine the image with a "title" of some kind on it, and I want those words on the right ("after" the image) as opposed to on the left (i.e., leading "into" the image).

Guessing which is the original is really difficult for me, but a subliminal feeling says that #2 is just a little bit "off" and #1 is the original.

If they are from the same image, simply flipped, the "off" you speak of is in the viewing perception. It's just a mirror image.
No pixels were changed or harmed in the transition, only their location was changed.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

Rick from NY wrote:

Not sure I understand. The entire image was flipped, not just the bird. The bird “flows with the direction of the water” in either pic. For what it’s worth, I prefer the bird on the right looking left, but cannot explain why. Subjectivity is hard to define. #2 works for me; others may prefer #1. From the replies to date, it seems I am in the minority.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. You are correct about water flow in both. I should have mentioned why the flow left to right in the second photo followed how most read left to right, so felt more natural to me.

wham121736 Loc: Long Island, New York

In our culture we read left to right. Stand at the curb and nearby traffic moves left to right. Stand at first base line or third base line and runners move left to right. Stand at the race track finish line and horses move left to right. So we are accustomed to seeing motion left to right and it is argued that this “feels” more normal and makes the image more appealing. But ultimately it is your image, your choice.

Photo Madman

The second feels more natural to me upon observation not analyzing. Then when I took the time to analyze the two images I became aware that it appears water and possibly the wind are moving from left to right and that this bird appears to be flying into the wind not gliding either the wind. After nearly twenty-one years of video production work I tend to trust my instinct of what feels most natural. My opinion only, not set in concrete.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

ronichas wrote:

This was a great discussion. Made me think since some of the judges from my camera club have given lower scores stating *image should go from left to right* I took several of my images to see how I do and which I like better. I posted it to my camera club...
Here are my images. Can you tell which is the original?

Dunno, but they're sure beauties 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Someone who knows about such things would be able to tell which is the right way around. I'm not one of those people. The nice thing about processing is that you can do what you want.

What puzzles me is why video is sometimes reversed. For example, I saw a movie in which a good portion of it was reversed. The driver of the Jeep was on the right, writing was backwards, etc. This has happened with digital as well as with film.