Pre-Writing Checklist for Analyzing
Photos
Content: What, literally, does the photograph
depict? Who or what is the subject of the photo?
What is the setting?
Cultural Context: What is the historical contest of
the photo? If it “documents” a particular event,
person, or historical moment, how prominently
does this photograph factor into our understanding
of this event, person, or place? (For instance, is it
the only known photo of an event, or is it one of a
series of photos taken of the same subject?)
Checklist, con’t
Material Context: Where was this photo
reproduced or displayed (an art gallery, the cover
of a magazine, the front page of a newspaper)? If
it was published elsewhere originally, does this
source credit the original?
Argument: What, thematically, does the photo
depict? What is its message to the audience? For
instance, while the photo might SHOW a group of
people standing together, its argument might be
about love, family unity across generations, or a
promise for the future.
Checklist, con’t.
Photographer: Who took this photo?
What was the person’s purpose?
Genre: Is this a news photo? A selfportrait? A piece of art? How does it fulfill
or confound the expectations of this genre?
(For example, the expectation for a news
photo is that it clearly captures a person,
moment, event; the expectation for a selfportrait is that it evokes an artist’s sense of
his/her own persona.)
Checklist, con’t
Audience: Was the photo intended to
persuade a larger audience or to function
as a more personalized expression of a
point of view?
Purpose: What is the photo’s purpose? Is
it intended to be overtly argumentative and
to move its audience to action? Or is the
argument more subtle, even to the point of
“seeming” objective or representational?
Checklist, con’t.
Rhetorical Stance: How does the
composition of the photo convey a sense of
the rhetorical stance or point of view of the
photographer? Pay attention to issues of
focus (what is “in focus?” This may differ
from the ostensible “focus” of the picture);
cropping (what is “in” the picture, and what
has been left “out/”); color (is the picture in
black and white? Color? Sepia?); setting
(what backdrop has the photographer
chosen?); and perspective (are we looking
down? Up?).
Checklist, con’t.
Representation vs. Reality: Does this photo
aspire to represent reality, or is it an overtly
abstract piece? Is there any indication of photo
manipulation, editing, or other alteration? If so,
what rhetorical purpose does this serve—what
argument does this alteration make?
Word and Image: Does the phto have a caption?
Does it accompany an article, essay, or other
lengthy text? How does the image function in
dialogue with this verbal text? Does it offer visual
evidence? Does it argue an independent point?
Does it provide a counterargument to the print
text?