Swipes and Saves: A Taxonomy of Factors Influencing Aesthetic Assessments and Perceived Beauty of Mobile Phone Photographs

Abstract

Digital images taken by mobile phones are the most frequent class of images created today. Due to their omnipresence and the many ways they are encountered, they require a specific focus in research. However, to date, there is no systematic compilation of the various factors that may determine our evaluations of such images, and thus no explanation of how users select and identify relatively “better” or “worse” photos. Here, we propose a theoretical taxonomy of factors influencing the aesthetic appeal of mobile phone photographs. Beyond addressing relatively basic/universal image characteristics, perhaps more related to fast (bottom-up) perceptual processing of an image, we also consider factors involved in the slower (top-down) re-appraisal or deepened aesthetic appreciation of an image. We span this taxonomy across specific types of picture genres commonly taken—portraits of other people, selfies, scenes and food. We also discuss the variety of goals, uses, and contextual aspects of users of mobile phone photography. As a working hypothesis, we propose that two main decisions are often made with mobile phone photographs: (1) Users assess images at a first glance—by swiping through a stack of images—focusing on visual aspects that might be decisive to classify them from “low quality” (too dark, out of focus) to “acceptable” to, in rare cases, “an exceptionally beautiful picture.” (2) Users make more deliberate decisions regarding one’s “favorite” picture or the desire to preserve or share a picture with others, which are presumably tied to aspects such as content, framing, but also culture or personality, which have largely been overlooked in empirical research on perception of photographs. In sum, the present review provides an overview of current focal areas and gaps in research and offers a working foundation for upcoming research on the perception of mobile phone photographs as well as future developments in the fields of image recording and sharing technology.

Lost in digitization: The physical format of creative work affects authenticity perceptions.

“…Our findings are also related to recent research on the impact of viewing fine art in digital or lab contexts compared to in the “real” world (Leder et al, 2022; Reymond et al, 2020; Trupp et al, 2023). The proliferation of the internet means that individuals are increasingly able to experience fine art on digital devices.…”

Assessing the aesthetic attractivity of European butterflies: A web-based survey protocol

“…In fact, the butterfly images presented on the PC, tablet or mobile phone may not accurately reflect the real appreciation of butterflies in nature. Static images (digital reproductions) of dynamic living beings are evaluated [ 99 ], while the appreciation in nature would include aspects related to the dynamism of the organisms (e.g. butterfly flight diversity in the four dimensions of space) that are impossible to include in the test.…”

Let's put a smile on that face—A positive facial expression improves aesthetics of portrait photographs

“…Never before have so many people taken so many photos—of themselves, of friends, loved ones, of trips and experiences they wanted to remember and share with others [ 1 ]. Current mobile phones make it easy for everyone to capture photos with high image quality and shape how we approach and use photography [ 2 ].…”

“…Based on previous work in the fields of empirical aesthetics and art perception [ 6 , 7 ], we recently proposed a taxonomy of factors that determine the aesthetics of mobile phone photography [ 1 ]. Our model predicts that the perceived beauty of an image results from an interplay of image and content features that differ for different image genres and tasks, but also depends on variables of individual raters, such as their gender, expertise, familiarity with mobile phone cameras, and even their personality.…”

“…According to our model [ 1 ], viewers mostly make two types of aesthetic assessments when looking at photographs. First, viewers swipe through images on their phones or mobile devices and make spontaneous aesthetic decisions about them.…”