In 1927 a soviet psychologist and her professor noticed something interesting about waiters. Waiters often remembered the detail of a patrons orders if the bill was unpaid. If the patron had paid for the order then the waiter simply wiped it from their mind.
What they hypothesized is that our subconscious mind likes closure, and will work at all cost to close out a undone task. This is like handing a half done puzzle to a person. This effect also drives the magic of to do lists. You just have to check the box!
We like closure so much that the absence of closure can be a strong motivator for humans to take an action. Take for example the TV shows that roll the last scene of a TV show with the words “To be continued…..” Or think about season finales on any of your favorite Netflix binges. I bet most of those shows employ some form of this trick.
Which brings to photography. How can you use this in your photographic and creative life?
Some ideas:
Use a partial story to get people to go to other platforms or videos?
In photo books use a series blank pages to stop the flow information and drive your reader forward.
Leave out a few essential items in your compositions to create tension in the viewer.
Unbalance the composition in a story set and the re-balance it later in the sequence to add resolution.
Create gear checklists so you have motivation to get things packed before leaving.
Abandoned Hospital.