VISUAL LITERACY – QUESTIONS FOR DECONSTRUCTING PHOTOGRAPHS

The following questions can be very helpful when looking at images and deconstructing them.
Remember to discuss only the most important and interesting aspects of the image as it
relates to the main claim. The idea is not to discuss everything in the image, but rather to
identify the author’s most important aspects and how they shape meaning for the viewer.

Three Steps to Deconstructing Images:

1. Look closely, look long.

- You spend a long time reading a written text, annotating, and considering how author’s
shape meaning. Photos are no different. Take your time. Look carefully. Make detailed
observations.

2. Ask probing questions

- Now that you’ve given that image a good hard look, it’s time to ask some probing questions
to dig deeper and detect those photographic elements. How did the photographer make
choices to shape meaning?

3. Put it together. Nail the purpose and audience.

- Your photographer has a message, and they are using their camera to speak to an audience.
Look at your notes. Consider the choices made, the main message of the image, and think
about with whom the photographer is communicating. Think deeply. Consider multiple
audiences and purposes. Be thorough.

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When making observations, it’s helpful to have this list of guiding questions handy. Use this
document as scaffolding until you can internalize and remember the key attributes to look for
when analyzing photographs.
STEP 1: Make Observations
Look at the picture and evaluate it’s aesthetics:
Composition:

Where does your eye settle when first looking at the image? Why? ○ Where does your eye
move next? ○ What are the planes/regions of the image (i.e. dividing, horizontal or vertical
lines)?
Focus & Framing:

What is foregrounded in the image?

What is backgrounded in the image?
What is sharply in focus?
What is blurry or out of focus?
What details are emphasized or obscured by these techniques?
Light:

What is light and what is dark in the image?

What is significant about what is light?
What is significant about what is dark?
How do these light values draw attention to details in the image?
How do they obscure details?
Color:

How do colors construct meaning?

Are the colors warm or cold?
How does color contrast shape meaning?
People and Place:

What do you see (literally) in the image? Are there people, places, or things?
Are people shown?
■ Describe them (in terms of race, class, gender, occupation, etc).
■ What are they doing?
■ Can you get a sense of how they feel, based on their facial expressions, body
poses, or interaction with others?

What type of space does the image show?

■ Is it urban or rural?
■ Inside or outside?
■ In a home, work, or leisure environment?
■ Can you tell the specific location (town, state, region or country)?
■ Is the space open or crowded?
■ Calming or disorienting?
■ Is it an everyday scene or something unusual? ○ What other objects are in the
image? How do they interact with or augment other aspects of the image?
Gaze:

Where are the people in the photograph looking?

Do they seem aware of the camera? If so, what is their attitude towards it?
What is significant about where they are looking or what they are looking at?
Is there anything significant about what the person is not looking at?
 Framing and Cropping:

How closely is the photograph cropped to the subject?

Is there lots of background or almost no background?
Does the main portion of the photograph go almost to the edges of the photograph?
Does it feel crowded or spacious? ○ What might lie outside the frame?
What is not shown in the photograph, and how might that be significant?

Now that you’ve spent some time examining the image in great detail, it’s time to put it all
together and consider that audience and purpose. With whom is the photographer
communicating? What message are they trying to convey in the image? How do the artistic
choices indicate the main claim and audience?

STEP 2: Determine the Purpose

What feelings or emotions are evoked by the photo? Explain.
Is there a specific occasion for this image?If so, what political / cultural / ideological context
is provided?
What idea is being communicated?
Do you find this idea appealing? Why or why not?
For which audience is this picture intended?
What is the purpose of this image?