This document provides guidance for writing analytical descriptions of photographs. It outlines four assessment objectives (AOs) to address: AO1 developing understanding through research, AO2 experimenting and developing skills, AO3 critically reflecting on one's work and process, and AO4 making connections, presenting work, and evaluating. For each photograph, it recommends discussing the technical aspects, composition, visual elements, and conceptual meaning. It also provides vocabulary and questions to facilitate in-depth analysis of photographic style, techniques, genres, lighting, lenses, cameras, and creative/technical controls.

1. WRITING ABOUT
PHOTOGRAPHS
AO1 DEVELOP
ANALYTICAL AND CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING
AO3 RECORD
REFLECTING CRITICALLY ON WORK AND PROCESS
AO4 PRESENT
MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN VISUAL AND OTHER ELEMENTS

2. TITLE OF PHOTOSHOOT
USE A DESCRIPTIVE TITLE e.g. Anxiety Portrait in the style of Brandt and Heisler
Talking about your own photographs…
All of your work should have a brief explanation. You do not need to write about every photograph, and you should NOT write pages and pages!
However you should include the following for each task:
- What was the task: what skills did you develop and how did you apply them?
- If you linked to a photographer: which photographer inspired you and how? e.g. My photograph is influenced by the Photographer…)
- Explain the photography techniques: which formal elements, camera settings, and editing techniques did you use? How and why?
- Reflect on the strengths: what works well and why?
- Suggest ways of improving: what would you do differently next time? How would the photo improve as a result?
TECHNICAL
LIGHTING Type (natural/daylight, tungsten, flash, fluorescent, shade) Level of control (positioned/located, reflected, manipulated, intensity, distance)
Relevant key words: tonal range, contrast, saturated, over / under exposed, glare. Use a diagram or behind-the-scene photo to show placement of
lights
LENS lens size, macro, telephoto, wide angle, settings: f-stops, neutral density filters (long exposure during the day)
CAMERA digital or film? (35mm medium/large format, disposable, toy)
CREATIVE CAMERA CONTROL (EXPOSURE TRIANGLE)
- APERTURE Depth of field (DoF) - shallow DoF e.g. f1.8 (large aperture) deep DoF e.g. f22 (small aperture)
- SHUTTER Exposure time, over/under exposed, motion blur, panning...
Slow shutter speed - long exposure e.g. 1 second = movement and motion blur
Fast shutter speed - short exposure e.g. 1/1000 second = no motion and frozen action
- ISO Film speed, light sensitivity, (higher sensitivity = grainier image), tonal range, grain - coarse/fine, texture, contrast...
- WHITE BALANCE the temperature of white light (sunlight, flash, cloud, tungsten, fluorescent)
IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS Photoshop/Lightroom tools, darkroom (use screen grabs) camera (movement, depth of field), lighting (studio equipment
setup),
image adjustments (Photoshop, Lightroom, darkroom)
VISUAL
When you are writing about the STRUCTURE of the piece of art you could discuss
Visual Elements (the ingredients that we see) e.g.Colour / Tone (light/dark) / Texture (surface) / Shape (2D, flat) / Form (3D) / Pattern (repletion) / Line
Composition e.g. Layout, arrangement, organisation (of Visual Elements), selection, cropping, containment/confinement (within frame)
Leading the eye, Viewpoint, Balance, Harmony, Contrast, Tension, Foreground, middle ground, background, Rule of Thirds, Depth of surface illusion...
CONCEPTUAL
VISUAL LANGUAGE (the meaning of your work)
What is the big idea? How are you communicating your idea?
TALKING ABOUT YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY

3. Researching photographers…
You will regularly have to carry out independent
research into photography techniques, styles or
specific artists and photographers. To ensure that
you are successful, use the following to help you:
- Find a photographer that inspires you. Select the
photo that gives you the most ideas and print it
out ready to present in your book. Write down the
name of the photographer and if you can find it,
make note of the title of the image
- See if the photographer says anything about
their style, influences or photography technique –
if they do, save this to help you later.
INVESTIGATION PAGE - WHAT TO TALK ABOUT
1. PAGE HEADING
Name of the photographer, title and date of the work
2. CONTEXT
- Who are they and what are they best known for?
- When you are talking about CONTEXT (how it relates to other things) you should talk
about surrounding circumstances/information/knowledge that sets your understanding,
brings deeper meaning, adding value (context)
- Why did artists of this time choose to work this way? Consider the culture of the time.
3. CONNECTIONS
a. What connections can you make to your previous knowledge, how does their work
relate to your project?
b. Does it look like any other Photographers work? How? Are they influenced by FILM,
PAINTING, THEATRE or MUSIC? Compare and contrast. A Venn Diagram might be useful
to use to quickly identify the similarities and differences
4. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Now it's time to breakdown the image. “Say what you see and have an opinion.”
When analysing the work you might consider CONTEXTUAL TECHNICAL VISUAL CONCEPTUAL
Use some of these questions to help you, and always use key words to achieve the best marks:
•How does the photographer take his photos?
•What camera settings and photography techniques do they use?
•What formal elements do they use and how?
•What effect does this have on the images?
•What kind of editing is used?
•How does this affect the way you view the photos?
•What do you like about the style? Be specific and explain your answer.
5. TAKEAWAY POINT
How does this photographer give you ideas for your own work? How will you take inspiration from them?
6. CREATE
Always create your own version of photographers work where possible as this is the best way to demonstrate an
understanding of their technique. Don’t just copy though, make it your own in some way in order to get the higher marks.

4. When you are writing about the STRUCTURE of the piece of art you could discuss…
• Composition (the layout of the piece, is it in thirds? Off centre?)
• What is in the Foreground/mid-ground/background? (where is the focus?)
• Diagonal/vertical/horizontal lines
• Form (what is the shape of the key objects in the image?)
• Layers (building it up, in Photoshop)
• Sections (different parts, is it broken up or merged together?)
• Procedure (the steps taken to achieve the finished piece)
When you are writing about EFFECTS (filters or layers) you could use…
• Different lenses (wide angle, telephoto, macro)
• Balance of Curves, contrast, colour (with lots of expression)
• Filters- Glows, Vignette, Blur, render, sketch
• Collage
• Saturation of colour
• Cropping (this can massively change the way you read the image!)
• TONE – (is there lots of extreme black and white or soft mid-tones/greys?)
When you are writing about COLOUR use words like…
• Saturated, de-saturated
• Warm, Cool, atmospheric
• Certain tints of one colour
• The Photographer has used a very limited colour palette (range)
• Complimentary colours (these look good together)
• Clashing colours (these look bad together)
• Sensitive (careful and with much thought)
• Does it fit with the image? What does it add/take away?
When you are writing or talking about a STYLE of work refer to Photographic genres like…
• Portrait/Landscape
• Surrealist (dream-like, make-believe)
• Documentary (recording events, political, informative)
• Conceptual (with complex ideas and meaning)
• Fashion
• Media (news, magazine, newspaper)
• Fine Art ( geared towards galleries, can be very experimental and abstract)
Talking about a specific photograph it is
unnecessary to discuss everything in this
list, but choose a few additional things to
discuss in addition to the above.
Choose the bits that will be most
interesting to talk about.
CONCEPTUAL
- What ideas/views/meaning/thoughts/concepts
do you think the image helps to communicate?
Not just behind the work, but might be the
'essence' of the work/the work itself.
- When you are writing about how you FEEL
about the piece you could use…
• Mood
• The photograph gives the impression of…
• The photographer gives a sense of….
• There is a suggestion of…
• The scene portrays a…
• There is a feeling of…
• The immediate impact this image has on
me is…
- What connections can you make to your
previous knowledge?
- What have you learned from exploring and
analysing this image?
INVESTIGATION PAGE - GOING FOR GOLD

5. LIGHTING
Type of lighting: natural/daylight - time of day (dawn/dusk/golden hour)
shade Studio - LED light, strobe/flash, fluorescent/tungsten, ring-flash
Level of control: positioned/located, reflected, manipulated, intensity,
defused, distance, high key (bright) or low key (dark), number of lights
Relevant key words: tonal range, contrast, saturated, over / under exposed,
glare...
Draw a diagram of your lighting setup or use behind-the-scene photo
to show placement of lights
CAMERA & LENS
Film or digital camera - 35mm medium/large format, disposable, toy?
Lens Type: lens size, macro, telephoto, wide angle, settings: f-stops,
neutral density filters (long exposure during the day)
White Balance: Colour cast/temperature, colour accuracy, warm/cold
APERTURE
Central focus: the objects(s) which appears most prominently and/or most
clearly focused in a photograph.
Depth of Field: What aperture has is used to ensure the photograph is
either: Deep DOF - all in focus e.g. f/22 Shallow DOF - small amount in focus
e.g. f/2.8
SHUTTER
Movement: What shutter speed has the photographer used to captured
motion?
- No Motion movement completely frozen - fast shutter speed e.g. 1/250
sec
- Motion Blur - slow shutter speed e.g. 1 sec
ISO
Film speed, light sensitivity - higher sensitivity = grainier image), tonal
range, grain - coarse/fine, texture, contrast...
COMPOSITION
Angle: the vantage point from which the photograph was taken; generally
used when discussing a photograph taken from an unusual or
exaggerated vantage point. Can you say anything about perspective?
Are there any converging lines adding depth, where does the vanishing
point lead?
Focal Point: where is it and more importantly - why is it?
Law of symmetry: the human mind is always trying to find balance in visual
imagery.
- Symmetrical balance distributes visual elements evenly in an image.
- Asymmetrical balance is found when visual elements are not evenly
distributed in an image.
- Counter part, is needed to balance the image, if not is this a bad
composition?
- Vertical balance (breathing room) Horizontal balance (gazing direction)
Framing: What has been placed within the boundaries of the photograph?
- How has the photographer broken up the frame, what spaces have
been created? Is there any natural framing used within the photo?
- Can you use figure ground relationship to separate the subject from
the background?
Space: Are there important negative spaces in addition to positive
spaces? Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow?
What creates this appearance? Is there depth created by spatial
illusions? Does the photographer completely fill the frame?
Background: the part of a scene or picture that is or seems to be toward
the back.
Format: What is the shape of the photograph, square, panoramic, 4x6,
5x7, 10x8?
DIRECTION OF SUBJECT
What direction has been given to the subject?
Subject: the main object or person(s) in a photograph.
Emotions: happy, sad, fearful, excited, proud, crazy...?
Direction: standing, sitting, jumping or laying? What are
they doing with their arms, hands, legs?
Gaze: which direction are they looking - into/out of the
frame, at the camera (how does this make you feel), at
another subject?
Props/clothes: what are they wearing/holding
Environmental portraits: how has the photographer used the
location to provided more context to the subject? How
does the subject fit in the frame and do the subjects
clothes, eye colour match/complement the backdrop?
VISUAL ELEMENTS
Colour: Bright, dull, sombre, subtle, or fiery red, golden yellow, forest
green…
Line: are there objects in the photograph that act as lines? Are they
straight, wavy, thick, thin, wobbly, smooth, curved. Has the photographer
used line, such as converging verticals/vanishing points, to lead your
eye and create direction in the photograph? Do they outline? Do the lines
show movement or energy?
Texture: 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?
eg. Smooth, rough, lumpy...?
Shape: what 2D shapes can you pick out in the photograph?
Do you see Organic shapes based on natural objects such as trees,
mountains, leaves, etc. or do you see Geometric shapes - simple rectilinear
or curvilinear shapes found in geometry, such as circles, squares,
triangles, etc.
Repetition and Pattern: Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat
and create a pattern?
Form: what 3D forms can you pick out in the photograph.
Tone: i Which areas of the photograph are brightest? s there a range of
tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest tone? Where is the
lightest?
Think black shadows, grey midtowns and white highlights.
Abstract: an image that emphasises formal elements (line, shape, etc)
rather than specific, recognisable objects.
CONTEXTUAL
- Photographers name
- Title of Work & Date
IMAGE ADJUSTMENT /
MANIPULATION / DARKROOM
Colour / saturation: washed-out desaturated colours or bold vivid colours
Exposure: Lighten / darkened the image
Contrast: High contrast / low contrast, level and curves
Removing unwanted detail: cropping, masking, clone stamp
Photomontage: Collage, typography, mixed media, layer blending, layer
effects
Other media and materials: drawing/painting/illustration
Darkroom: Dodge/burn, filters, multiple exposure, solarisation
AO3 RECORD - REFLECTING CRITICALLY
INVESTIGATION PAGE TAKEAWAY POINT
- What have you learned from exploring and analysing this image?
- What influence might this have on the development of your work?
DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY
- explain your experiments and the way you have refined them
- how is your idea developing? Where next?
TECHNICAL
& VISUAL

7. CONTEXTUAL TECHNICAL VISUAL ANALYSIS CONCEPTUAL

8. AO1: Researching &
generating ideas
- researched
- selected
- chose
- reviewed
- compared
- contrasted
- a range of
- a variety of decided
- responded
- appreciated
- imagined
- wondered
- considered
Example: I began this project by researching a
variety of artists and photographers online
whose work expressed the theme of X.
I particularly responded to the work of X. His/Her
images are imaginative and skilful and I was
keen to explore how to…
AO2: Experimenting,
refining & developing
- experimented
- played with
- explored
- learned how to...
- developed my skills in...
- watched online demos for...
- refined revised thought
- chose
- selected
- media
- processes
- techniques
Example: I have explored a range of media,
processes and techniques in this project
including...
I have refined my work in various ways. For
example...
I found the technique of X very challenging and it
took me a long time and plenty of patience to
make real progress.
AO4: Resolving,
presenting & evaluating
- presented
- mounted
- displayed
- resolved
- personal
- meaningful satisfied/pleased with
- reflected
- reviewed
- audience
- viewed
- understanding
- represented/presented
- outcomes
Example: I am pleased with my final outcomes
because they represent how I feel about the
theme of X.
I have chosen to display them in a particular
way because...
If I had more time I would like to explore the
theme of X in even more detail by...
Evaluation is simply the process of explaining
1. your research about other artists' work and the ideas you have had
2. your experiments and the way you have refined them
3. the decisions you made along the way and how you have recorded your learning
4. what you made, how you chose to display it and what it means
Explaining is more interesting than just describing. It involves
giving clear reasons for your creative decisions and really
thinking hard about what you have done and why.
EVALUATING
YOUR WORK
KEY WORDS AND PHRASES
Here are some words and phrases
to help you evaluate your work.

9. AO1
Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and
other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
● Which artists have you researched during this project? How did you discover them? What
have you learned from studying their work?
● What theme did you explore? What were your first thoughts about the theme? How did your
ideas change about it as you developed your work?
AO2
Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes,
reviewing and refining ideas as work develops
● Describe the experiments you have carried out with different media, techniques and
processes. How have you chosen specific ways of working and materials in order to express
your ideas?
● Explain the decisions you made about how to refine and develop your work. Be specific
about each stage of the development process.
● What worked well? What did you find challenging? How did you develop your investigation?
What changed along the way? What impact have these changes had on the quality of your
responses?
AO4
Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where
appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
● Describe your final outcome(s) for this project in some detail.
● What were you hoping to create? Did it work? How do you know? What were your success
criteria?
● Do you think you have successfully explored the theme? Why/why not?
● What decisions did you make about how to display it? How have you researched various
display strategies?
● What is personal about your work?
● What do you hope viewers will understand from looking at it?
● If you had more time, what else would you have liked to try?
EVALUATING
YOUR WORK
Writing Guides & Blooms Taxonomy
BLOOMS TAXONOMY FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
Evaluate and Create.
What do you think is effective about this photograph? What doesn’t work so well
What do you think other people would say about this work? Why do you think that
What do you think is worth remembering about this photograph?
Create a photographic response to this image. What did you choose to create and
why? How does it compare to the original stimulus?
What have you learned from exploring this work of art?
Analyse.
Which part of the photograph strikes you as most interesting - captivating,
surprising, puzzling, mysterious? Why?
How has the photographer dealt with space and time?
How has the flattening of space (3D to 2D) affected our view of the subject?
What questions would you ask the artist about this work, if s/he were here?
What can you discover about this image and the work of this artist through
research? How does this new knowledge affect your understanding of the work?
Apply.
What does this photograph remind you of?
Is this a naturalistic or abstract image?
Was this photograph made with or without a camera? How can you tell?
Which Formal Elements seem important? How would you describe the lines in this
picture? The shapes/forms? The colours/tones? The textures and patterns?
How has the photographer captured the play of light in this image?
How is space represented in this photograph (foreground, middle ground,
background)?
What is in or out of focus? How has the subject been framed/cropped?
What equipment, techniques and processes have been used to make the image?
How does this affect the way we view it?
How is this picture different from real life?
Understand.
What title would you give to this photograph? What made you decide on that title
What other titles could we give it?
What do you think this photograph is about (its themes or big ideas)? How did you
decide?
Pretend you are inside this photograph. What does it feel like?
What do you think it would be like to live in this photograph? What makes you
think that?
Why do you suppose the artist made this photograph? What makes you think that?
Does this photograph remind you of other photographs/images that you know?
Remember.
What do you see in this photograph?
What words would you use to describe this photograph?
How would you describe this photograph to a person who could not see it?
What things do you recognise in this photograph? What things seem new to you?
What is the genre of this photograph? (still life, portrait, landscape, documentary,
architecture, abstract, conceptual etc.)
Use the prompts below, along with the Bloom's
Taxonomy for Photography resource, to help you
structure a detailed, reflective account of any of your
completed projects.