User Feedback Results

A huge thank you to everyone that took part in my user testing. A grand total of 185 people took part online via the survey and 18 in person looking at prints.

Results in Person

Blinking. All 18 users spotted that the subject was blinking in the left photograph and so agreed with what I thought was the right photo.

Not looking. Again, every user noticed that the subjects weren't looking in the right photo and agreed with my choice of choosing the left photo.

Large group composition. This photo created the biggest split between the users, with slightly more choosing the portrait orientation rather than the expected landscape. Many users said that they couldn't see any difference between the 2 photos, apart from the subject in the back right being slightly more visible in the portrait photo, while others commented that the portrait photo was zoomed in. In both these cases the users failed to realise the orientations were different.

Portrait composition. At first glance the users couldn't see any difference between the 2 images. After repositioning the photos in front of them, the majority realised the horizontal alignment was different and then as expected they identified the left photo as the better composition.

Landscape composition. After realising the previous composition technique, the users quickly applied the same logic to this photo and they all chose the right photograph as expected.

Feet. This pair took a while for users to decide on. Many required a hint as to what they thought of the feet before arriving at the expected response, while a couple decided the left photo was 'better arranged' or the subjects were 'leaning in more'.

Arms. This final pair also proved difficult. Some users said the slight rotations of the bodies were better in the left image, and after prompting, two thirds of the users agreed that arms looked better in the right photo.

Rule of thirds. All the users chose the best 2 images, but sometimes couldn't decide whether they preferred the subject dead central or on the right thirds line. The most observant commented that they would prefer a photo half way between 2 and 3, which was the photo that was originally taken.

Pairs results for feedback in person

Rule of thirds composition results for feedback in person

Results Online

Blinking. All but 4 users correctly identified the correct photo.

Not looking. All but 2 users agreed with me and identified the left photo where both subjects were looking.

Large group composition. 75% of users chose the portrait composition rather than the landscape. A lot of comments refer to the subject partially hidden in the back right, but there were also comments referring to 'landscape feels like a nicer crop'.

Portrait composition. Two thirds identified the left photo as the better composition. Many users said they couldn't see any difference, possibly because they couldn't move the images round unlike the users who were holding the prints.

Landscape composition. Again, two thirds identified the right photograph as expected and there were many comments about not being able to see a difference.

Feet. The majority of users arrived at the expected photo, after identifying the stance of the right subject but a few commented on that the left photo was 'more zoomed in' or that they couldn't see any noticeable difference.

Arms. Just over two thirds chose the expected photo with the other third commenting that the left subject was facing straight on, but still many found it was 'difficult to give a reason, left just looks nicer'. 

Rule of thirds. Photos 2 and 3 accounted for 91% of the users, with the remaining 9% being split between the remaining seven images. Users that chose photo 3 gave reasons such as they 'can see whole body, also for some reason prefer it slightly to the right', while 107 users said it was 'obvious' that it should be centred. A few commented that photo 3 obeyed the rule of thirds.

Pairs results for feedback online

Rule of thirds composition results for feedback online