Using Eye Movement to Determine Whether Closed-Frame Shots Attract Viewers’ Attention

Abstract

There is a large variety of photographic composition, and these compositions can illicit different visual and psychological responses in the audience. However, there is limited knowledge of the key factors in these compositions in photography that actually affect the viewing process, and also no empirical support for the relationship between emotional responses and visual cognition. This research applied eye-tracking to calculate the degree of fixation distribution in the process of viewing photographic works through the quantitative characteristics of fixation trajectory in the investigation of the influence of eye-movement information on closed and open image compositions. This research attempts to understand the psychological differences in viewing framed and unframed images and identify the crucial factors that affect the composition of photographic images. Results from the eye movement data found that closed text and photos displayed traits of the principle of closure, and that different compositions can significantly affect the fixation point and sightline distribution. Image compositions with property of closure tend to be more attractive, generating higher number of fixation and longer fixation duration, indicative of easier focus on the primary object in the picture frame and regulating the viewer’s field of view. Photographers try to make good use of frame composition to herd viewer focus as well as increase their interest, making their image composition as complete, concise, pleasant, and pleasurable to the eye, typically applied to landscape, still life or portrait photography. This study has the potential to become a reference that contributes to photography educational and visual communication.