The research applied image evaluation methods to examine visual perception theories with photography, through investigation of the relationship between the aesthetic experience of looking at photographs and the ability to actually discriminate the photographic language building blocks- luminance contrast and spatial configuration, at different regions of the characteristic curve. The relationship between contrast discrimination performance and preference of contrast in photographs was investigated and eye-movement tracking methods revealed the effect of contrast over fixation patterns and aesthetic experience.
S. Gershoni, H. Kobayashi, "How We Look at Photographs-As Indicated by Contrast Detection, Preference and Eye-Movement Patterns" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP21), 2005, pp 124 - 125, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2005.21.1.art00036_1