Photography Resources

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Basic Information:

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• The photographer I am looking at is [NAME] and they are from [Country]

• The subject matter in the photograph of theirs that I am looking at is… [Describe the image - what is it of? Does it have a title? What is the viewer’s eye led to in the photo (the main subject matter)? What else is in the photo?]

• It was taken in... [What year or time period was the photo taken?]

• If the photo you are looking at is from a series, what is the series called?

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Camera Settings:

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• The photograph is a Manual photo taken with a film camera / Digital photo taken with a DSLR camera. [Write the camera model here as well if you can find what it is]

• I think the photo has been taken using a Manual [M] /Automatic/Semi-Automatic Aperture Priority/ Semi-Automatic Shutter Speed setting because… {Why do you think this?}.

• In this photo the camera has been focused on... [Describe the Focal Point (what's in focus/not blurry) of the photo]

• The photographer has used a big/small/medium Aperture to create a Shallow/Long/Medium Depth of Field. What kind of effect does this have on the photo? Where does it draw the viewer's eye (probably to what's in focus, making it the most important element in the photo)?

• [Photographer Name] has also used a fast/slow/medium Shutter Speed because... [Why do you think they used it? (e.g. slow to get light trails on film, or fast because they wanted to reduce motion blur]

• It would have been best for them to use a big/small/medium ISO like [example] to take this photo because [it creates noise/grain, it's very bright, it's very dark, the light to dark ratio is balanced].

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Visual Qualities:

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• This photograph was taken using… [Do you think they’ve used a tripod, macro lens, filters, lighting, props, etc? What effect has using this had on the photograph?]

• They have used Studio/Natural (the sun) Lighting. [What would the lighting set up be like? Are they lit from a specific direction? Does the light have a colour to it, if so why have they chosen to do this? What are the shadows created like (is it hard light or soft light)?]

• Do you think this photo has been edited in Photoshop? If so, how have they edited it and why? [Most photos have probably been enhanced, at least, in Photoshop unless the photographer specifies otherwise].

• [Name of photographer] has paid attention to the Compositional Rules in this work, as they have intentionally used [Leadings Lines (perspective lines that lead to the focal point), Framing (where the subject is framed by a window or object), The Rule of Thirds (grid), Diagonal Lines, Central Eye Dominant (a person’s eye is in the middle of the photo), Contrast Between Subject and Background (Can be any kind of contrast, including Tone or Colour, specify how they’ve created a contrast), Symmetry (two halves of a photo are mirrored), Repetition and Pattern].

• What effect does using this Compositional Rule have?

• [Name of photographer] has used the Formal Elements of [Repetition (repeated Imagery), Shape and Form (strong shapes in the photo), Negative Space (the empty space around an object), Balance (elements in the photo balanced, eg. left side and right side are equal), Focus, Texture, Lines, Colour, Tone or Light (strong contrast)]

• What effect does using this Formal Element have?

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Mood:

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• I think the photograph feels ____, they have created this Mood by... [Does the photograph have a certain Mood its creating (e.g. calm, spooky, exciting), what about the photo makes it feel like that?]

• The people [if there are any in the photo] look… [Describe any body language and expression, do they match the overall mood of the photo or are they contrasting?]

• The colours used in the photograph are [Describe the colours (or lack of them) in the photo. Are they Contrasting (opposite on the colour wheel), Analogous (gradient), is there one overarching colour or one pop of colour that really stands out, etc] and this has the effect that... [What effect does the photographer’s choice to use these colours specifically have on the photo?]

• If the photo has a strong contrast: Is it a High Key or a Low Key photo?​​​

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Intent:

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• From looking at it, I think the photo is about… [What do you think the photo is about?]

• Researching [Photographer name]’s work have found that they took this photograph because… [Every photographer has a reason for taking their photo, what do you think is the reason this photo was taken?]

• What is the photographer trying to convey with their work? What’s their context?

• How does the composition/colours/subject matter etc link to their context?

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Relate to your own work:

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• How will you be influenced by this photographer’s work when planning and taking your own photos? What about their work are you going to try and replicate in your own?

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