“Don't Look At The Camera." A Case Study Of A Subject's Gaze and the effects on the viewer.
Summary
A scientific study of photography and a subject’s gaze in advertising from Oxford University.
To convey a specific negative message or warning, look at the camera.
Look away to tell a story, convey mood and emotional resonance.
Why it works.
The many exceptions to the "rule".
The following creative insight is from The Shotlist Newsletter. I hope you find this, and other writings helpful and thoughtful for your creative endeavors. If you do, take a moment to sign up for my newsletter so you will never miss a beat. I never sell your info, and promise not to spam you.
Enjoy.
“Don't look at the camera."
When I was an assistant, I heard this from the more experienced pros, but I never gave it much thought. Later in my career, when I needed the story or mood to be center stage, not the personality, I naturally gravitated towards this same art direction.
Still, I didn't know why; when I examined photographs that I found to be iconic and more memorable from the masters in my field, those images feature someone looking away. https://www.photosophic.com
It was an obvious common thread, but I still wanted to know precisely why it worked so well, especially when someone challenged me on this art direction. Finally, researchers in the field have begun to crack this code with actual data.
What Is In Fashion
The first principle of fashion that we learn is often the one we forget; fashion is aspirational. We purchase our wardrobe based on who we want to be, not how we feel today. What is “fashionable” is really a collective decision on what the hot-new-thing is, even when the “new” is remixing the “old”.
Experts in trend forecasting to everyday customers admire a new collection not as a group of products to be bought and sold but as a vision of what is possible in their own lives. Through this lens, it's easier to understand fashion as the catalyst to the desired experience, lifestyle, and even a form of self-expression.
What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.
—Miuccia Prada
Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.
— Bill Cunningham.
Fashion is as much about feeling as it is about anything else. Feeling comfortable, protected, safe, capable, confident describes my entire closet at the moment. For others, it can be about being understood, heard, seen, admired, desired or invisible.
In his book, This Is Marketing, Seth Godin explains that people at a hardware store don't buy 1/4" drill bit; they buy a 1/4" hole. They purchase it because they believe in the desired effect and resulting affect of a job well done and the satisfaction of doing it themselves. [Link to and expert from Seth’s book]
I think this perspective illustrates the role fashion plays in our lives. We shop and dress based on an emotional fulfillment that we seek.
Get The Picture
So how does this translate into fashion photography? Well, the answer is remarkably simple, but it's not easy.
One of the decisions to make at the earliest stages of planning a shoot is the feeling, energy, and vibe you want to embed in the photographs.
Easy right?
Basing those decisions around the following is a good start:
Your audiences' or customers' aspirations, perspectives, and goals.
The aspirations of those just outside your audience.
The voice of the publication, designer, artist, or brand.
Not so easy.
In my opinion, the decision of overall feeling of a fashion photoshoot is one based on empathy. The good news is that you don't have to get it right 100% of the time. It's best if you don't. Tell a story, but not a literal one. The trick is to leave room for the viewer to introduce their imagination, their own empathy.
Recommendations
"If your product is hedonic (e.g. a decorative candle, food, fashion, experiences), you'll likely use emotional ads, so models in them should look away from the viewer.
If your product is utilitarian (e.g. insect-repellent candle, home repair, accounting services), you'll likely use informational ads, so spokespersons in them should look at the viewer."
If your message generates negative emotions (e.g., a campaign about the dangers of drunk driving), the person(s) in your ad should also look directly at the viewer."
Why it works
An averted gaze enhances the narrative transportation of an ad, making it easier to imagine ourselves in that situation or using the product.
A direct gaze increases our feeling that the person in the ad is someone else, rather than ourselves, and makes them seem more credible if they're communicating a message.
Above is a distillation from the marketer and founder of Ariyh, Thomas McKinlay, who scours the internet's case studies to support his evidence-based marketing philosophies. [Link]
The source study conducted in the file and online is entitled "How the Eyes Connect to the Heart: The Influence of Eye Gaze Direction on Advertising Effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Research." [Link To Paper]
The Eyes Have It
Having a model look away allows for a story to take shape, a story that sequential images in a series can reinforce. I will remember the model's mood and disconnect from everything else in the photograph if they stare right at me. It prohibits my aspirations to play a part as the personality of the subject occupies the entire space.
Breaking The 4th Wall
Imagine Mad Men’s Don Draper staring into a camera and engaging you directly. It may be a fun trick the first time, but it would take you right out of the story's emotional journey. Do it again, and it becomes a gimmick that cheapens the whole world around him.
We Are Just Getting Started
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule (portraiture, beauty, known personalities, whenever I say so) especially since this field of study is still relatively new and studied just at the surface level.
I am sure we will narrow our focus (see what I did there) into different use cases the more exposure (I did it again) the science of photography in advertising receives.
Until then, don't look at the camera.