Left to Right or Right to Left

One is a horizontal flip of the other. Which one?
L to R



R to L

I have a theory that it changes the dynamic of an image in subtle ways. Conventional thinking is that in the west we read left to right so we scan images left to right. That would imply that in some areas we should reverse that thinking for best effect.

I'm not sure if that's right or wrong, but if it's right then using the reverse direction might well increase the dynamic of a shot, giving us more of a sense of tension. That's why I prefer the second image, rightly or wrongly.

Personally I like the right to left, it just seems to have more impact. could be due to the point John makes about reading from left to right?

It depends which side of the Jaguar you stand. I like 'em both.
CHEERS Vic.

R to L for me

Phil

I actually think that the true ' dynamic' in this type of shot is nothing to do with how we read, but rather whether we focus on an out of focus or in focus area first, and then our scan pattern from there.

Here I find the first point of interest is the larger out of focus areas, and then the attention is pulled towards the centre and the in focus head. This is simply reversed between the images, so for me I find no difference at all ... The effect is the same in both, it just changes the direction of my initial scan across the frame. I can't therefore find any preference personally.

I don't know why but to me it does seem to have more impact from R to L.

Cheers.
Philip

RtoL seems to be "coming at you" so i prefer that,