Reading photographs

Creative Media Production 2012 1

Reading Photographs

Producing photographs project – task 1

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Reading photographsPhotographs contain a visual language rather than the written language we are more used to reading.

Reading a photograph requires you to develop your visual literacy.

When learning to read the written word, you had to understand the different letter forms and combinations which make up words in order for you to understand what was written.

There are visual and compositional elements for you to learn and some additional vocabulary to help you learn to read an image.

You do not have to learn all of these at once, instead use this to help you and revisit it as you learn. Over time, you will develop the ability to read images without it’s help, in the same way that you can read written language without spelling out each word as you go.

Creative Media Production 2012

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Vocabulary

Abstract: An image the emphasises formal elements (lines, shapes, colour) rather than specific, recognisable objects.


Content: The subject, topic or information captured in a photograph.

Intention: The reason(s) why the artist made a work of art.

Theme: A unifying or dominant idea in one work of art or in a collection of works.

Subject: The main object of a photograph.

Representational: An image which shows recognisable objects.

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Vocabulary

Landscape: An image that portrays the natural environment.


Documentary photography: Photographs which main purpose is to record a place, people or event.

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Vocabulary

Expressive: Photographs concerned with communicating emotion.


Geometric shape: Simple shapes found in geometry, such as circles, squares, triangles etc.

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Vocabulary

Organic shape: Shapes based on natural objects such as trees, mountains, leaves, etc.


Portrait: A photograph of a person or animal in which the face and its expression is usually predominant

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Visual elementsFocus: What areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? What do not?


Light: What areas of the photograph are most highlighted? Are there shadows? Does the photograph show clues to the time of day? Is the light natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? Reflected or direct?

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Visual elementsLine: are there objects in the photograph that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines show movement or energy?


Repetition: Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create a pattern?

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Visual elements

Shape: do you see geometric or organic shapes? What are they?


Space: Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow? What creates this appearance. Is there space in the photograph or is it crowded?

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Visual elementsTexture: If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How do the objects in the picture look like they would feel?


Dynamic range: Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest value? Where is the lightest?

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CompositionAngle: The vantage point from which the photograph was taken. generally used when discussing a photograph an exaggerated vantage point like very high or very low.


Background: The part of a scene or picture that is or seems to be toward the back.

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Composition

Balance: Symmetrical balance distributes visual elements evenly in an image. Asymmetrical balance is found when visual elements are not evenly distributed in an image.


Central focus: The objects(s) which appears most prominently and/or most clearly focused in a photograph.

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Composition

Composition: The arrangement or structure of the formal elements that make up an image.


Contour: The outline of an object or shape.

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Composition

Contrast: Strong visual differences between light and dark, varying textures, sizes, etc. Images can have lots of contrast or very little.


Framing: What the photographer has placed within the boundaries of the photograph.

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Composition

Setting: The surroundings or scenery whether real, such as in a landscape or artificial such as a studio.


Vantage point: The place from which a photographer takes a photograph.

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Using the terms

You are unlikely to be able to use every term with every photograph you look at but there are likely to be several that you can use.

You can also told not only about the presence of something, such as geometric shapes, but also the absence of things, such as contrast.

The more you can talk about a photograph, the better you can understand it’s construction and it’s meaning.


Art & Photos

Reading photographs