UNDERSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHS

VISUAL TECHNICAL
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The Formal Elements:!
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Lighting:
• Focus - Which areas appear clearer or sharpest?! Type of lighting e.g. available (daylight, street lights), additional (studio
• Light - Where are the highlights and shadows? Can you guess the time of day? Is the light natural or
artificial, harsh or soft, direct or reflected?!
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lights, flash, reflector) or combination?

Aperture:
• Line - What are the dominant lines in the image? Are they straight or curved, thin or thick? Do they Type of lens (wide angle, telephoto, macro etc.) f-stops, Depth of Field
create direction, do they outline, do they indicate movement?! (DOF) - deep/ shallow, focal point - selective focus, in and out of focus,
• Repetition - Are objects, shapes or lines repeated in the image? Does this create a pattern?!
• Shape (2D) - Do you see geometric or organic shapes? What are they? How do they relate to each
other?!
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vignette

Shutter Speed:
• Form (3D) - Do the objects in the image appear three dimensional? What creates this effect?!
• Space - Is there depth in the image or does it seem shallow? Is there negative space? ! !
Exposure time, over/under exposed, motion blur, panning

ISO:
• Texture - If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel?!
Film speed/sensitivity (fast = higher number, grainier/noisier image), tonal
• Tone - Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where are the darkest and lightest parts of the
image? Is there contrast? What is the proportion of greys (mid tones?)!
• Colour - Is colour a significant feature of the image? Are there any complimentary colours? Can you
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range, contrast

White Balance:

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Composition:!
Colour cast/temperature, colour accuracy, warm/cold

Arrangement of formal elements, Rule of Thirds, Cropping/Framing, Foreground/Middle ground/

CONTEXTUAL CONCEPTUAL
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Historical:
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Connections:
Place in time, local/national/global events. History of Photography - tools and equipment, movements, • What connections can you make to your previous knowledge?

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styles, genres and ideas. Significant practitioners/publications/exhibitions etc.

Biographical:
• What relationships can you see between this image and other images by
this or a different photographer?
• What ideas/views do you think the image helps to communicate?
What do we know about the photographer? What relevance does this knowledge have to the • What influence might this image have on the development of your own

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image(s)?

Psychological: !
work?
• What have you learned from exploring and analysing this image?

How do you feel when you look at the image? What feelings/states of mind are suggested by the

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image? What theories of mind are relevant to an interpretation of the image?

Theoretical:
Can you apply any theories to your understanding of the image (e.g. cultural, political, philosophical/
aesthetic)?