Image Analysis

Think of analysis like a traffic light that

has stages
1+2+3 = Success!

EVALUATING AN IMAGE IN DETAIL

Stage One
Describing Formal Elements

Stage Two
Technical Information
Colours-are they warm/cold, light/dark, unusual/realistic, black and white?
Composition - rule of thirds, leading line,
central
Lighting- is it natural or artificial?
Describe the contrast (tones/shadows)
Describe the background, surroundings,
overall scene
Depth of Field, focus.

Where was the image created?

e.g. Outside, studio
Was it taken with film or on digital?
Has it been manipulated in
Photoshop?
Was it staged by the photographer or
taken by opportunity?
What was the shutter speedIs the image sharp or blurry?

Stage Three
Opinions and meaning

Your First Impressions.

Content/subject-describe what is happening in the photo.

Is there a story?

Mood- how does the colour/contrast/manipulation affect

the mood?

How does it affect you?

Meaning- what is the photographer trying to say and

what do they want the audience to think?

What is your personal opinion on this piece of

Formal Elements
Creative
Descriptions
Vibrant

Colour

Angle

Hyper-real

Warm

Contrast
Light
Detail

Layers

Pattern

Space

Tone

Texture
Repetition

Blur

Surface

Sharp

Soft

Shadow

Reflection

Symmetry Silhouette

Dark

Shape

Harsh
Frames
Direction
Cold

Experimental

Form

Composition

View-point

Line

Rule of Thirds

Technical Descriptions

Process

Centre
Foreground

Horizontal
Natural

Artificial

f-stop

Portrait
Perspective

Frames
Vertical

Focus

Blur

Presentation

Lighting
Digital

Depth of Field: Shallow or great

Shutter-speed
Exposure: Long & Short
Proportion

Scale

Camera Shake
Landscape
Flash
Movement

Wide-angle

Negative

Distance

Aperture
Highlight
Close-up

Crop

Colour

Grain

Positive

Black and White

Analogue

Exposure: Over & Under

Background

Narrative and Meaning

Depicts
Document

Conceptual
Arrangement

Understanding
Constructed

Conventional

Avant-garde

Representationa

Interpretation

Conclusions

Decoding

Visual Metaphor

Perception Depth

Illustrate

History Date

Use
Subject

Identity

Social reference

Communication

Context

Aspect

Realism

Manipulation

Clich

Significance

Story

Intention

Photographer

Meaning
Psychological

Viewer

Modernist

Genre

Culture

Question

Mood

Why
Representation

Analysis

Perspective

Who

Atmosphere

Relationship Abstract