Visual Image Toolkit

ANALYSING

STILL IMAGES

Questions to ask yourself when examining still images. This is a somewhat exhaustive list, and these questions are mainly to give you ideas on the sorts of things you can consider. Subject Matter • • • •

What is the main subject of this photograph? What is going on in this photograph? What do you see that makes you say that? What do you think interested the photographer about this subject?

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Time When do you think this picture was taken? What do you think happened just after the photograph was taken? What happened right before the photograph was taken?

Visual Elements • • • •

Light Does the light seem to be natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? From what direction is the light coming? Focus What parts of the image are clearly in focus? Are some parts out of focus? Note: The range between the nearest and farthest things that appear in focus define the photograph's depth of field.

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Color What colors do you see, if any?

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Texture Do you see visual textures within the photograph?

Composition: How Things Are Arranged • •

Framing How would the picture change if you moved the camera to the right or left, or up or down? What has the photographer left out of the picture?

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Vantage point/Camera Angle Where do you think the photographer was standing when he/she took this picture? How far was the photographer from what you see in the picture? How could you change the vantage point to make the picture look different?

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Dominance Close your eyes. When you open them and look at the photograph what is the first thing you notice? Why is your attention drawn there? Are there other centers of interest?

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How are the centers of interest created?

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Contrast Is there strong visual contrast - lights and darks, varying textures, etc.?

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Balance Is the visual weight on one side of the photograph about the same as the other? How about from top to bottom? Diagonally?

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Historical and Cultural Context Where do you think it was made? Who do you think the people in the picture are? What does it look like they are doing? Does this tell you anything about when, where, and what was going on when the photograph was made? What was happening in history during the time this photograph was taken?

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Original Purpose How was the photograph first seen or used? How is the photograph seen today?

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Photographer's Intention What biographical information do you know about the photographer? Does this information tell you anything about why the photographer may have created the photograph? What do you think the photographer was trying to express through the image? What do you see that makes you say that?

Vocabulary Subject - The main thing depicted in a photograph. The subject may be people, objects, shapes, places, events, etc. Framing- What the photographer has placed within the boundaries of the photograph. Vantage Point/ Camera Angle - Where the photographer positioned the camera, relative to the subject, to take the picture. Is it a high angle making the viewer feel dominant or a low angle making the viewer feel subordinate? Just remember a high Angle does always connote dominance – sometimes it’s just the best angle for the photo. Dominance (Visual Hierarchy)- What is most influential or important in the image. In a work of art, the dominant point is where your eye is drawn first. Contrast- Opposition or juxtaposition of different forms, lines, or colors in a work of art to intensify each other's properties and produce a more dynamic expression. Balance - To arrange or adjust parts in a symmetrical way. Composition (Mis-en-scene) – They arrangement of technical and visual elements in a photograph. Social Distance – Social distance can be expressed in two ways. Firstly it is the distance between the camera and the subjects. Secondly it is the distance between the subjects in the photo. Social dostance can be discussed in terms of ‘intimate’, ‘social’, and ‘public’. There are no

hard and fast rules but, obviously, intimate social distance is where subjects are closest to the camera or each other.