Dear Cherubs, ever wondered why your eyes instantly lock onto one person in a crowded photograph, a bright headline on a website, or that suspiciously perfect product in an advert? It is not necessarily magic, brilliant design, or your questionable impulse to buy things online. It is visual hierarchy, and understanding it reveals how images quietly compete for your attention.

In his article for Peachpit, filmmaker and author Larry Jordan explores six compositional priorities that help determine where viewers look first. His central idea is simple: visual elements do not attract attention equally, and creators can use that difference to guide what audiences notice.

The result is a practical lesson for photographers, filmmakers, designers, marketers, and anyone who has ever tried to make a social media post stand out in an aggressively crowded feed.

Six Priorities, One Very Distracted Brain

Jordan identifies six elements that influence where viewers direct their attention: movement, focus, difference, brightness, size, and foreground position.

Movement comes first. Humans are naturally attentive to things that move, making motion an effective way to grab attention in video. Even a still photograph can suggest movement through posture, direction, or composition, creating a sense that something is about to happen.

Next comes focus. When one subject is sharp while the surrounding scene is blurred, that subject often becomes the obvious starting point for the viewer’s gaze. Cinematographers and photographers use selective focus to separate important details from visual clutter. Your smartphone camera may keep everything sharp, but that does not automatically make every photograph more compelling.

Difference comes third. A black object against a white background, an unusual shape among familiar patterns, or a single contrasting colour can attract attention because it breaks the visual routine. In other words, being different can work wonders, provided the difference serves a purpose rather than simply screaming for attention.

Brightness follows. When other elements are relatively similar, a brighter area can stand out and draw the eye. This helps explain why high-contrast text and illuminated subjects often dominate a composition.

Size and position

Bigger elements generally attract attention before smaller ones when the other factors are comparable. A large face, headline, or product can therefore become the visual starting point. But size is not an automatic victory: a small, sharply focused or unusually coloured object may still win the attention contest.

Finally, Jordan highlights foreground position. When other visual differences are limited, an object or person placed in front of the others can become the first thing viewers notice. Directors often combine this positioning with lighting, size, and costume choices to make a particular character stand out.

The clever part is that these priorities rarely operate alone. A person positioned at the front, dressed in a contrasting colour and illuminated more brightly than everyone else, has several advantages at once. Subtlety, apparently, is optional when the scene needs a clear focal point.

Why This Matters Beyond Photography

Visual hierarchy is useful because attention is limited. A photograph, advert, presentation, or video can contain plenty of information, but viewers need visual cues to work out where to begin.

Designers can use contrast and placement to make important information easier to find. Filmmakers can guide audiences through complex scenes, while content creators can make thumbnails and graphics more immediately understandable. The goal is not merely to attract attention, but to direct it towards something meaningful.

There is an important caveat, however. Jordan’s six priorities are a practical compositional framework, not an inflexible scientific law. Culture, context, personal interests, accessibility, and the image itself can all influence what someone notices first.

The takeaway? Good visual design does not leave attention entirely to chance. It gives viewers a clear place to start, then helps them discover what matters next. And if your next photograph suddenly looks more deliberate, you are welcome to blame your newfound knowledge rather than your camera.

Sources

Peachpit — Larry Jordan, “The Six Priorities Determine Where the Eye Looks First”
https://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=3089307&seqNum=2

Peachpit — Techniques of Visual Persuasion: Create Powerful Images That Motivate
https://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=3089307

Thisclaimer — Further reading and informative content
https://thisclaimer.com/

Thisclaimer YouTube — Additional explainers and videos
https://www.youtube.com/@thisclaimer?sub_confirmation=1