General
Considerations: A Simple Initial Procedure for Choosing Types
of Scenic
Photographs
The first thing to
ask yourself is "How does the scenic photograph you're looking
at make you feel?" For example, "Do you like it?",
"Does it catch your eye and make you want to visually explore
further?". What's your first thought when you see it? How did
you feel and think about it after viewing it longer?
We focus first on
your own visual reaction at this stage, because your own feelings and
reactions to a scenic photograph are very important.
-
This is so because
you are likely to be the person who will spend a lot of time in that
room. If you don't like the image, this will color your
reaction to that space. An scenic photograph that makes you feel good
or comfortable will tend to make you feel that way in that room --
while one that doesn't will tend to have the opposite effect.
-
So the first thing
to remember when choosing an image is that you should do it to
please yourself.
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Second, your own
visual reaction to the image is important -- because this will give
you an important clue about how a visitor react to the image. This is
not to say that your reaction to the scenic photograph (and therefore
the space it decorates) will always match the feeling and reaction of
any or all other visitors. But your own reaction is an important
starting point -- and you may find that your own reaction turns out
to be more correct than you thought.
This is so because
human beings have a lot of fundamental commonalities when it comes to
visual images and initial emotional reactions, despite even our own
individual differences.
-
Like you, others
are generally drawn to a picture by the way it makes them feel, by
the thoughts that it arouses for them, or by how it somehow
positively reflects something about themselves. A picture can indeed
be worth a thousand words.
-
Once you've
engaged in this relatively simple process (of letting your own
reaction to an image be your guide) and thus have an idea about how a
visitor might also react -- you can then ask (and better answer) the
question of whether this reaction will facilitate the purpose of your room.
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Of course, it's
important to remember that a wall image is only part of the total
package of a room's decor. In addition to wall decor, it's important
that a room:
-
Be physically
comfortable in line with its function (e.g., having enough
ventilation, having enough space for the traffic you anticipate, as
well as having a comfortable temperature),
-
Be functionally
equipped for the room's intended purpose (i.e., having the
appropriate furniture, lighting, equipment, and roominess so that
this purpose can be accomplished), and
-
Be sufficiently
pleasing to the eye, overall, so that it does not (as a visual
environment) distract attention from the purposes of the room.
