#sceneperception

Hindi lang basta-basta ang pagseset ng profile picture. Ako, personally, super hirap magset ng profile picture kasi pinipili ko talaga kung anong maganda (huhu call me narcissist keri lang!). Kasi siyempre, people want to have an attention-catching display photo. Self-gratifying kasi siya kapag may naglalike (lalo na kapag lumagpas ng 200, ego booster di ba!!!). Pero kasi maraming obstacles on how to make your DP very very noticeable and very very likeable!! Sa news feed kasi, malamang hindi lang ikaw ‘yong makikita ng tao (except kung ikaw lang ‘yong friend niya, which is highly unlikely hahaha). So kadalasan, nasscroll-an lang ng ibang tao ‘yong DP mo.  

As I mentioned earlier, you have to make your DP likeable para mapansin siya kahit sobrang liit lang ng thumbnail. So paano ba? Para madiscuss siya nang maayos, gagamit ako ng psychological concepts on how principles in scene perception and object perception can help you achieve the perfect DP!!!

This be your typical news feed!!! Aling DP pinakamagandiz? 

1. CHOICE: Saan ka magpipicture? Sa dagat? Sa gubat? Sa BGC?

Everything starts with a choice, opkors. Kailangan mo piliin kung anong concept ba gusto mong i-pull off. Sa kalye, sa mall, sa dagat, sa gubat, sa ibang bansa, sa ilalim ng dagat, sa ilalim ng table, habang lumilindol, etc. Kailangan loyal ka sa concept mo. Mahirap kapag dalawa-dalawang concepts, at ambiguous ‘yong peg mo. Hindi magegets, hindi rin magugustuhan.

So yep I chose the sea!!

Pero kasi according to a research conducted by Tinio and Leder, dalawang psychologists from Austria na nagsspecialize sa aesthetics and evolutionary psych, mas prefer ng mga tao ang mga photos ng natural scenes (tulad ng dagat o gubat) kaysa sa man-made scenes (streets, cosmopolitan areas like BGC). May evolutionary roots daw ‘to kasi mas maraming panahon ang na-spend natin bilang isang species kasama ang nature kaysa kasama ‘yong mga man-made things. Nakakatulong din daw kasi siya na i-restore ang ating physical and mental health, mostly dahil sa aesthetic value and meditative value na binibigay ng scenic photos. Finally, may naaactivate daw na receptors for pleasure kapag tumitingin sa scenic photos (2009). How nice ‘di ba!

Thus, mas likeable ang isang photo kapag kinuha mo siya mula sa isang scenic view kaysa kapag kinuha mo sa isang cosmopolitan area. Kaya mag-beach or punta kang bundok para kumuha ng photo! Maeffort pero it will pay off!

Pero as I said earlier, it starts with a choice. Choose the natural view over the man-made one. Ano namang next step?

2. QUALITY: 1080p is da best!!

Remember how people called you soshal everytime you use an SLR? Yep, so mag-aapply din siya sa pag-post ng DP. Sabi kasi nina Tinio and Leder (super fave ko sila!), may impact ang image quality sa preference sa natural scenes (2009). So kung kumuha ka ng dalawang photos of the same thing using two different devices, mas preferable ‘yong photo from the device na may magandang camera. Yay!

Pero ‘di mo rin naman kailangang bumili ng SLR para mag-DP. ‘Di naman tayo gano’n kadesperado. Marami pang techniques on how to snap the perfect DP! Gamitin natin ang principles ng Gestalt psychology, and some discoveries on scene perception.

3. SCENE STRUCTURE: Let them know!

Kapag magd-DP ka ng photo, kailangan nakakacapture agad kung nasaang lupalop ka ba ng mundo. Ito ‘yong pwede nating tawagin na scene gist. Sabi ni Castelhano and Handerson, ang scene gist ang magagawa mong inferences on a particular scene. Kasama na sa inferences na ito ‘yong mga bagay na pwede mong makita sa loob ng scene and kung anong layout niya (2008). Medyo halata siya actually. Like kapag sinabi sa’yo ng isang tao na magdrawing ng beach, may nafoform ka nang concept and kayang kaya mo siyang i-drawing nang hindi namomroblema. Parang generalized concept ng isang beach.

Ang scene structure naman ang “shape” ng isang scene (Castelhano and Handerson, 2008). For example, kung kukuha ka ng isang larawan sa beach, may particular textures na dapat present doon, na hindi mo makikita sa isang larawan ng gubat. For example, nandiyan ‘yong sand, nandiyan ‘yong mismong dagat, and open ang space. ‘Yong ganitong mga textures, hindi makikita sa gubat, kasi sa gubat, maraming puno, and medyo masikip ang space.

Magandang pumili ng isang DP na halata ang scene structure ng isang lugar para marecognize agad ng isang friend (or crush). Haha.

Typical details of a beach: the water, the sand, the sky, and some distant islands. 

4. COLOR: Different scenes, different shades

Aside from the scene structure (or texture), important din i-consider ang color. Ayon sa research na kinonduct nina Castelhano at Handerson, may epekto ang kulay sa perception ng isang scene. Pero napansin din nila na may inconsistency sa findings when it came to color and scene perception na gusto nilang malaman kung mayroon ba talagang effect or wala. So they conducted an experiment on color. Gumamit sila ng wide variety ng scenes (hindi lang puro natural scenes) saka monochrome and original versions ng photos. Nalaman nila na nakaka-influence ang color sa gist dahil may nabubuong relationship between color and gist (Castelhano and Handerson, 2008). Like for example, ‘pag green, naaassociate siya sa gubat. Kapag blue, naaassociate siya sa dagat or sa sky (Goldstein, 2014).

Nalaman din nila sa research nila na nagpapakita ang effects ng color sa scene perception 80ms after exposure. So mabilis siya pero hindi instant. Ang gist kasi ng scene, the details surrounding scene structure, lumalabas siya 50ms after exposure. Therefore, mas mabilis magsettle ang scene structure kaysa sa color ng isang scene.

Pero kahit na mas late siya magsettle, important global property pa rin ang color kasi it implies something about the nature of the scene. Kaya if you want to have a photo na nasa beach ka or nasa bundok ka or nasa gubat ka, don’t use black and white. Hindi kasi siya mahahalata if ever.

Very blue. Very beach. 

5. FIGURE-GROUND: Top or bottom?

In Gestalt psychology, isang issue ang figure-ground segregation. Like, ano bang features ‘yong macoconsider mong figure and ano bang features ‘yong macoconsider mong ground? Pero si Goldstein, nag-offer siya ng guidelines sa kung ano ang macoconsider mo na isang figure and ano ang macoconsider mo na isang ground. Sabi niya, ang figure mas “thing-like” kaysa sa ground and mas memorable din siya. Siya ‘yong mapeperceive mo as an object. Sabi din niya, ang figure palaging nasa harap ng ground, at ang ground ay background lang talaga na walang specific shape unlike the figure (2014).

Pero meron pa actually na additional issues sa issue ng figure-ground segregation and photography. May mga research na na-conduct kung meron ba talagang orientation kung saan very obvious ang isang figure. And sabi ni Goldstein, ayon sa isang experiment na kinonduct n Shaun Vecera et al noong 2002, ‘pag nasa baba ang isang figure, mas maganda siyang tingnan. Ang sinasabi nilang reason behind this is the fact na typically nasa bottom part ‘yong mga figures. Like ang dagat, palaging nasa horizon. Ang landscape, palaging nasa horizon.

So another worthy advice would be to take a picture na ikaw ang figure, at nasa ilalim ka. Like take a picture of the sky with you below it. Take a picture of the beach with you immersed in it. Mas aesthetically pleasing daw kasi siya.

Located closer to the bottom. If I were a few centimeters near the top of the photo, baka di na siya betty.

6. PRINCIPLE OF PRAGNANZ: Simple is best

Ito na siguro ang favorite ko hahaha, and the last advice I could give. Sa principle of pragnanz, also called principle of good figure or principle of simplicity, “every stimulus pattern is seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as possible” (Goldstein, 2014). Makikita dito, apart from its main point, that the human eye has a bias towards simplicity. We don’t like to see complicated things kasi nakakadagdag pa ng unnecessary details. So it’s best to keep your display photos simple and straightforward. Sinabi rin ni Tinio and Leder na although a lot of people may think otherwise, original or unretouched high quality images of natural scenes are much more preferable than degraded images. Therefore, tama na masyadong photoshop, beh! It’s best to keep it simple. I-push ang #NoFilter. ‘Pag napush mo na lahat, you might just receive the award for best Facebook and Twitter DP!!

Walang masyadong details, wala ring filter. Gandiz. 

THIS CORNER IS FOR ADDITIONAL HANASH

But we really do have to ask ourselves: gaano ba kaimportant magkaroon ng magandang Facebook or Twitter DP? Ito lang ba ang point ng ilang oras na pag-engage natin sa social media? Of course not. Social media is a platform; it is a starting point for ideas, for mobilization, for movement, for change. Through one share, through one retweet, naipapamahagi mo sa buong mundo ang iba’t ibang kaisipan or ideologies na kinakampihan mo. It’s powerful, and it’s taken for granted sometimes. I hope more people realize that.

But I’m not trashing the arguments I have raised earlier. Maganda magkaroon ng maayos na FB and Twitter DP. It’s aesthetically pleasing, as I have said. But we have to go beyond the pictures and posts of each and every thing we do daily. We have to promote change.

SO YEY!!! Super daming magagawa sa social media. As in, sobrang dami. Try natin na i-tap lahat ng magagawa natin outside the realm of profile pictures.

Habang nag-iisip ka, pwede mo rin silang basahin since very helpful sila! :)

Castelhano, M., Handerson, J. (2008). The influence of color on the perception of scene gist. In Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34 (3), 660-675. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.34.3.660

Goldstein, E.B. (2014). Sensation and Perception, 9th edition. USA: Wadsworth/Cengage.

Tinio, P., Leder, H. (2009). Natural scenes are indeed preferred but image quality might have the last word. In Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 3 (1), 52-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014835