Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics and ApplicationsLuckiesh, Matthew
Science
Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics and Applications
Luckiesh, Matthew
Optical illusions
The foregoing figures illustrate several phases which influence our
judgments and the wonder is that we do not make more errors than we do. Of
course, experience plays a large part and fortunately experience can be
depended upon in most cases; however, in the other cases it leads us
astray to a greater extent than if we had less of it.
The photographer, perhaps, recognizes more than anyone else the pitfalls
of lighting but it is unfortunate that he is not better acquainted with
the fundamentals underlying the control of light. Improper lighting does
produce apparent incongruous effects but adequately controlled it is a
powerful medium whose potentiality has not been fully realized. The
photographer aims to illuminate and to pose the subject with respect to
the source or sources of light so that undesirable features are suppressed
and desirable results are obtained.
Finally his work must be accepted by others and the latter, being human,
possess (unadmittedly of course) a desire to be "good looking." Lighting
may be a powerful flatterer when well controlled and may be a base
revealer or even a creator of ugliness.
Incidentally, the photographer is always under the handicap of supplying a
"likeness" to an individual who perhaps never sees this same "likeness" in
a mirror. In other words, the image which a person sees of himself in a
mirror is not the same in general that the photographer supplies him in
the photographic portrait. The portrait can be a true likeness but the
mirrored image in general cannot be. In the mirror there is a reversal of
the parts from right to left. For example, a scar on the right cheek of
the actual face appears on the left cheek in the mirror. Faces are not
usually symmetrical and this reversal causes an individual to be familiar
with his own facial characteristics in this reversed form. This influence
is very marked in some cases. For example, suppose the left side of a
companion's face to be somewhat paralyzed on one side due to illness. We
have become more or less oblivious to the altered expression of the left
side by seeing it so often. However, if we catch a glimpse of this
companion's face in the mirror and the altered expression of the left side
now appears upon the right side of the face, the contrast makes the fact
very conspicuous. Perhaps this accounts for the difference which exists
between the opinions of the photographer (or friends) and of the subject
of the portrait.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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