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Effectiveness Can Be Predicted and Measured
Once you understand the science, you can explain to clients how much better you can serve the needs they didn't even realise they had.
Behavioural Photography
The Psychology of
Visual Influence
The science-backed discipline for visual creators. Behavioural Photography transforms visual content from a creative expense into a strategic investment in persuasive assets that influence decisions, design behaviour and deliver measurable value for clients.
The premise
Beautiful images can still lose your clients results.
An image can be beautifully composed, technically excellent and perfectly suited to the brief — yet still dramatically underperform its potential. Behavioural Photography adds the missing science of human decision-making, asking not only what an image should look like, but what behaviour it should support.
By applying behavioural science to visual communication, visual creators can intentionally create Persuasive Assets designed to connect, direct attention, reduce uncertainty, strengthen belief and motivate action.
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- Behavioural techniques
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- Behavioural functions
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- Practical framework
“Beauty is only half of commercial imagery. The missing half is what the image actually helps people think, feel and do.”
Behavioural Photography introduces that missing half: applying behavioural science to the creation and selection of imagery so that visual communication is judged not only by how it looks, but by how effectively it supports its intended behavioural objective.
“Every image influences decisions in some way. The question is whether it does so intentionally.”
Patrick van der Burght on the Psychology of Visual Influence
The framework
Every image has a behavioural job to do
01
Connection
Help people feel more positively towards a person, organisation, product or message. Connection uses imagery to create warmth, relatability and a sense that the people behind the communication understand and appreciate their audience.
Create Human Connection
02
Direction
Attention is more limited than ever. Direction uses visual cues to guide the viewer towards what matters most — a headline, message, product, person, call to action or the next important part of the communication.
Attention Where It Matters
03
Clarification
Confusion and difficulty create inaction. Clarification uses imagery to make ideas, products, services and processes easier to understand, reducing mental effort and helping people grasp important information more quickly.
Make it easier to understand
04
Reassurance
Understanding something does not necessarily remove hesitation. Reassurance uses imagery to reduce uncertainty, perceived risk and doubt, helping people feel more comfortable about continuing towards a decision.
Reduce Uncertainty
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Reinforcement
Reinforcement helps people trust and believe what we are communicating. It uses imagery to strengthen perceptions of credibility, competence, authority and trustworthiness, giving people greater confidence in the claims we make about ourselves, our organisation, products or services.
Authority and Trust
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Motivation and Commitment
Motivation & Commitment helps people move from deciding to doing. It uses imagery to encourage action, strengthen commitment and help people follow through on their intentions rather than delaying or failing to take the next step.
Moving into ActionLessons from Behavioural Photography
See some of what you’ve been missing.
Lesson 01
Where they look, we look - Gaze Cueing
Humans instinctively follow the gaze of others. Gaze cueing allows visual creators to use the direction someone is looking to help guide a viewer's attention towards an important headline, product, message or call to action.
Instead of treating gaze simply as part of the composition, behavioural photography gives it a behavioural job.
Read the full lesson →
Lesson 02
Social Proof in Photography: How One Image Increased Results 202.8%
When people are uncertain what to do, the behaviour of others provides powerful information.
Social Proof can be communicated visually by showing people like our audience already engaging in the behaviour we hope to encourage.
Read the full lesson →Advantages of Behavioural Photography
Greater Results and Value for Clients
02
Redefine the Brief, Create More Work
When clients understand that images have specific behavioural functions, creating more and establishing a Persuasive Asset Library make perfect sense.
03
Move from Being a Creator to a Behavioural Advisor
When you take the lead in introducing behavioural science into your clients' business, you'll likely be involved in future work early and build a strong relationship.
Your Guide
Patrick van der Burght
Images that influence behaviour
Behavioural Photography brings the science of human decision-making and ethical persuasion into the world of visual communication.
Aimed at photographers, videographers, designers, marketers, AI image creators and other visual communicators, this framework introduces a practical way for turning behavioural objectives into Persuasive Assets — imagery intentionally created to help people think, feel and act.
Writing
