HOW TO DESCRIBE A PICTURE

Kinds of pictures
 picture, image
 painting
 photograph / photo
 portrait
 landscape painting
 poster
 cartoon
 drawing
 cover / front page of a newspaper
 comic strip

Artists
 artist  cartoonist
 photographer  painter

Structure
o next to o in the upper part / at the top
o near o in the lower part / at the bottom
o in front of =/=behind o on the left handside / on the left
o in the foreground o on the right hand side / on the right
o in the background o in the central part / in the middle

Describing the scene

 The picture was taken in/at/near ... (place).
 The photo was taken in/at/during....(time). * What’s the weather like?
 The picture depicts/ shows / ... (scene).

What can you see?

 On the left/right/In the middle/center… there is / are…

 We can see.......on the left/right.
 In this picture, the character/woman/child/man/animal… is (Vb)-ing .....

What is your impression?

 The characters look as if ...

 The viewer has/ I have the impression that ...
 The painting is vivid / happy / expressive / funny / strange/ inspiring / gloomy/…
 The picture makes the viewer /me feel ... (sad/happy)
 The picture makes the viewer /me think about …
 HOW TO DESCRIBE A PICTURE

1. Introduction

 The photo/picture shows ...

 It was taken by/in ...
 It's a black-and-white/coloured photo.

2. What is where?

 In the foreground/background you can see ...

 In the foreground/background there is ...
 In the middle/centre there are ...
 At the top/At the bottom there is ...
 On the left/right there are ...
 Behind/In front of ... you can see ...
 Between ... there is ...

3. Who is doing what?

The man/woman/animal in the picture is + ing

4. What I think about the picture

 It seems as if ...
 The lady seems to ...
 Maybe ...
 I think ...
 ... might be a symbol of ...
 The atmosphere is peaceful/depressing ...
 I (don't) like the picture because ...
 It makes me think of ...