Photographer-guided attributes for underwater image aesthetics

Automated aesthetic assessment of photographs is an active research area with applications in image editing and retrieval. There are many suggestions on the various factors of importance in making an image ‘good’ or ‘aesthetically pleasing’. However, there is no consensus in the literature on a definitive set of attributes that contribute to image aesthetics for underwater images, which include features specific to an aquatic environment. In this research we interview underwater photographers and apply thematic analysis to their responses with the aim of determining which attributes are important for an aesthetically-pleasing underwater image. The results define a set of nine key attributes (i.e. Aesthetics, Aquatic features, Colour, Composition, Image precision, Lighting, Novelty, Subject(s), and Technical competence). These findings will guide future work in automated assessment of underwater image aesthetics.