Photos with high grab quotient have an immediate appeal to viewers. They arrest your attention right away but the more you look at them, their depth would become more shallow. A sexist analogy may be that they are 15-second nymphs who grow wrinkles on their face, harvest fat in their tummy and droop from the shoulders the next second. There is no more room left for fancy.
On the contrary, there are some photos that don't turn your head at first sight. But they grow on you over time and make you want to look at them again and again. They appear richer every single time you revisit them. They will eventually get into your heart and stay there, always providing new room for imagination when they meet your eyes..
If you ake time to muse about this mystery, you would probably find that this applies to all forms of art. To have an eye for this potentially rich works is important. And in photography, such photographers are able to take mesmerising shots. This quality may come as a gift, or be acquired. There are many ways to do it. Mine is to learn the basics of art, like drawing.
I have found the techniques I learned from drawing and painting have gradually found their way into my images. One of them is to leave blanks. Blanks allow viewers to flow their gaze and thoughts on an image, essential for them to make their own interpretations of it. Surely, as a photographer, you would love to complement the blankness with intriguing elements in the image.
It is never the camera that grabs the viewers' interest. Those who think otherwise may better be addressed as camera lovers.
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