Right-brain vs. Left-brain?

[WardQ]

I'm wondering how many of you would consider yourself right brain (creative) thinkers or left brain (logical) thinkers. In high school art class, I was able to do some photography and darkroom stuff, which I really enjoyed. I chose not to continue taking art courses because I was going to become a doctor and, of course, NEEDED to fill my schedule with math, physics, biology, and chemistry. I wish now that I had pursued more art courses.

My questions are, do you consider yourself more of a creative or a logical thinker? Which do you feel helps your photography more?

I am definitely a logical thinker, and sometimes find myself feeling discouraged because I just don't have that artistic eye.

 

[bribrius]

no artistic eye here. Sure wouldn't find any creative genius. Mostly logical but....
I may really just not think at all.

 

[runnah]

I think with reptile brain

 

[BillM]

I'm right brain dead.

 

[480sparky]

What is this 'brain' thing you speak of?

 

[CdTSnap]

I was thinking about that the other day, my friend was commenting on my photography saying "How can an Android developer have an eye for photography at the same time." which I thought was funny, Ive surpised myself a few times with some of the shots ive produced. I think the whole developing thing slides into the creative side also. As you can tell my brian is centre focused, it cant decide weather to swing to the right or left lol.

I find myself constantly trying to improve my "seeing skills" more than my photography skills as I feel i have a strong technical knowlege of photography but Im still learning to see the shots. I technically know how to compose a shot and how to expose a shot but it comes down to the creative side seeing it.

 

[CdTSnap]

I think with reptile brain

I'm right brain dead.

What is this 'brain' thing you speak of?

And heres me trying to be serious for once lol, love this place so much better than work haha

 

[Designer]

I think people can develop both sides with practice.

 

[limr]

I think with reptile brain

I'm right brain dead.

What is this 'brain' thing you speak of?

And heres me trying to be serious for once lol, love this place so much better than work haha

I'll try to continue the trend

So...the right-brain-vs-left-brain dichotomy has not quite been discredited but has been shown to have been a bit too simplistic. Does knowing this this mean I'm logical?

The short answer is: I'm both.
The longer answer (not too long, don't worry): Our brains process information differently - we all have our preferences and strengths. I lean most strongly towards linguistic/logical processing, but I also have strong tendencies towards visual information. I'm crap at aural (hearing). If I want to remember something easily, it is ten times easier for me to remember it if I see it written, then if I see some kind of image. If I just hear someone say it? It's gone out of my head in seconds.

When I was in middle school, we learned a mnemonic for remembering information, for example, a list of words: read the word; create an image in your head, whatever you want, and exaggerate it. If the word is apple, picture an apple but make it really big, or purple, or a talking apple...something to make it visually distinctive. I rocked at this type of thing because it combines both of my preferred learning styles.

So, I tend to think logically, but I also know when to stop thinking logically and let the more visual part of my brain take over. That's where photography comes in. The desire to think of things systematically helps me with the actual mechanics of taking the picture, but there's nothing to use those mechanics on if you don't see the picture. I know when I think too much, my photos suffer from being boring. When I don't think enough, my pictures are interesting but sometimes too technically flawed to get my message across.

There has to be a happy balance for my creativity to really develop and be expressed.

 

[limr]

I think people can develop both sides with practice.

Hey, simulpost! :thumbup: You managed to be much more succinct about it, though

 

[EOV]

Who is this Brian you guys are talking about?

 

[bribrius]

okay, seriously. Im a theorist type with the logical lean. Philosophical, economic, theology.
what this means, is im a good b.s r
a creative person comes up with a idea which usually gets implemented to SOME success
a logical person will come up with a idea that usually gets implemented correctly but lacks certain creativity
I theorize about their ideas, I don't implement anything or come up with anything either normally.
Now, on occasion, I can become very logical. But that is strictly for emergency use in case I actually have to
have and implement my own idea to any level of functionality or someone pokes holes all through my b.s. theory.
what is bad about this, is I get little done.
what is good about this, Is I have a extraordinary knack for taking fourty different variables, seeing how they relate in theory over a wide spectrum
and usually can come to a pretty close to definitive conclusion even if it may not transpire to implementation. As I run these scenarios needlessly in my mind
all the time. I can also multitask mentally like a mutha im a information junky of all types...

how this transpires to photography. I spend a LOT of time thinking about photography. I don't spend much time doing it (im a theorist)
I can in theory, decide how I want to take a photo and when. Often the theories don't equate to the reality.
in reality, I toss the failed theory out the window, take the photo anyway. it often sucks. I go home and logically decide to delete it.
Theoretically, im supposed to be making myself shoot sooc as was my plan toward my style i want to develop and improvement. Logically, this is the best method for me to attain the long term results i want. In reality, it isn't always working to well much of the time . Reality im deleting them and cheating with at least a small degree of post process on some. Getting bored sometimes and playing with post process (smack my own fingers for that).
Theoretically I don't have a photography business. Logically, I don't want a photography business. in reality, ive taken money for photos so I have a photography business on a technicality.

But I ignore all that, because I live in the land of theory. As long as it works in theory then my mind tells me it is a success. Logic backs it up "in theory" and does until it has to go into practice. Long as it doesnt get implemented i dont have to reconfigure a failing theory, missed variable or rehash a faulting logic. .so i dont even have to take a photo just theorize it. :lmao:

i never come down to creativity. i dont think i have any of that.
But see? i just b.s 'd all that. Told ya so.

 

[usayit]

Left brain... Definitely. Photography is more therapeutic activity that has been a life long venture. Its a part of who I am rather than something that I do specifically for creativity.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[sleist]

If you've read "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" you will know that there are certain activities that cause you to think right brain or left brain.
Driving, for example, will place you in a right brain mode. This is why we have so many creative insights or solve problems while driving home from work.
[Accidents too me thinks. ]

I am predominantly left brain. I can get into right brain mode, but only for 3-4 hours max. Then I fatigue.
This is amazingly obvious when I'm out shooting. It takes me about 30 minutes to get into creative (right brain) mode.
I can stay there for about 3 hours.
Then my shots start to suck big time - well, suck more than usual big-time.

 

[bribrius]

"One important thing we can conclude from this study is that there is no single creative area of the brain -- no focal activation of a single area," says Allen Braun, MD, in the news release. "You see a strong and consistent pattern of activity throughout the brain that enables creativity."


Your Brain on Creativity