Take Good Look!
A format for looking at and talking about photographs.
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: Where the photographer positioned the camera to take the picture.
Dominance: The most influential or important element 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: Arrangement or adjustment of parts in a symmetrical way.
I. Subject Matter:
 What is the main subject of this photograph?
 What is going on in this photograph?
o What evidence is there for that?
 What do you think interested the photographer about this subject?
II. 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?
III. Visual Elements
A. Light
 Does the light seem to be natural or artificial?
 Harsh or soft?
 From what direction is the light coming?
B. 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.
C. Color
 What colors do you see, if any?
D. Texture
 Do you see visual textures within the photograph?
IV. Composition of the Photograph: How Things Are Arranged
A. 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?
B. Vantage point
 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?
C. 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?
 How are the centers of interest created?
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D. Contrast
 Is there strong visual contrast – lights and darks, varying textures, etc.?
E. Balance
 Is the visual weight on one side of the photograph about the same as the other?
 How about from top to bottom? Diagonally?
F. Historical and Cultural Context
 Where do you think the photograph was made?
 Who do you think the people in the picture are?
 What does it look like they are doing?
 Do the answers to these questions 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?
V. Original Purpose
 How was the photograph first seen or used?
 How is the photograph seen today?
VI. 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?
Questions written by Tomoko Maruyama, Curator of Education, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, and Cass Fey,
Curator of Education, Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona.
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