Photographic Psychology by John Suler

When I first came across the diagram which reflects the 8 mental states I started building on that topic. However, I did not realise at first that there is a connection between photography and psychology. Upon further inspection I came across interesting information which helps define my Major Practical Project.

Photography is psychology. Why? Because understanding the visual image is understanding the realm in which the psyche of the photographer and viewer intersect. Psychological principles about perception, emotion, creativity, personal identity, interpersonal communication, and human relationships help explain how we create visual images, how we share them, and how people react to what they see. Psychology can also help clarify the personality and social factors that shape the vocation and avocation of photography. - See more at: http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/introduction.htm#sthash.criiFHYJ.dpuf

John Suler's Photographic Psychology: Image and Psyche is a brilliant series of articles which explains and explores the relationship between photography and psychology.
I have just realised that this project has undergone a form of subtle transformation. It is not longer focusing on others being absorbed. It focuses on myself as a human being and how I respond to mental stages. It is no longer about absorption, it has become personal, exploring my own mind. Even if I repeat myself, I would have never though that this would be the final shape of my MPP. I am amazed by how things have turned out.

How does the human mind react to a photograph?

To answer that question, it helps to understand the psychology of sensation and perception. "Sensation" refers to the immediate, relatively unprocessed experience associated with the stimulation of a sense organ like the eyes, ears and skin, or with a specific body condition, like feeling tired. "Perception" refers to the basic mental operations that determine how the brain organizes, interprets, and makes sense out of that sensory stimulation. However, it's impossible to draw an absolute distinction between the two, because sensation and perception are part of one continuous process. Some aspects of this process are biologically, pre-wired into the human brain, while others, especially aspects of perception, are learned through experience. We might even consider the mind as analogous to computers. Both its hardware and software programming determine how it reacts to the world.

So how exactly is our mind hard-wired and programmed to see what’s happening in a visual image? This section will help the photographer appreciate the basic psychological principles of sensation and perception that determine how we experience photographs.

Source: http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/toc_sensation.htm

Photographic Psychology is a journey into this realm where photography merges with psychology. It's the exploration of how people create, share, and react to pictures. There are many books out there about how to create photos. I cover that territory too, but with a distinctly psychological emphasis. What you'll find here that other books lack are many ideas about how people share and react to images. I place special emphasis on what has, in recent years, marked a revolution in the history of the visual image and touched almost everyone’s life: online photo-sharing and digital photography. - See more at: http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/introduction.htm#sthash.criiFHYJ.dpuf

Major Practical Project - Hodie Sum

Photographic Psychology by John Suler

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