Proximity
What is the difference between a writer and photographer? A writer can write their words based on what they hear from others; a photographer has to be there in order to take their pictures, and because the photographer is there, the viewer is there too. When you look at a picture, you are at the same place as the photographer was, you are transported back in time. If the picture isn’t close enough you weren’t close enough. Being close to something creates intimacy, the illusion of being present, especially when looking at pictures of intimate or embarrassing situations. Still, it is this proximity, that we see something we haven’t before, that makes pictures exciting to look at. In simpler words proximity is the distance between the photographer and the scene that they are depicting that creates the intimacy and interest of a picture within the viewer.
Sources: 30 Second Photography
Sources: 30 Second Photography
Example from the internet
Own examples of proximity below: