The steps necessary to critique a photograph or piece of artwork.

1. CRITIQUE

2. HOW TO ANALYZE
3 STEPS
1. Description
2. Reflection
3. Formal Analysis
4.Judgement

3. Describing
• Look closely at an image to absorb
details.
•Remain objective
•Discuss what can be seen
•DO NOT DRAW conclusions about
photographs meaning.
•The tall man in the middle is wearing
a black suit
•In this black-and-white image, three
men stand in front of a tent.
•The man in the middle is the tallest
and is posed with his hands down at
his sides, wearing a formal black suit
with a bowtie and a tall stovepipe hat.
•The man to the left is wearing a worn
dark suit and a bowler hat.
•The man to the right is dressed in a
military uniform with bright buttons
and epaulets.
•The tent is pitched on a grassy
clearing with trees in the background. Alexander Gardner's Lincoln on Battlefield of Antietam, Maryland

4. REFLECTION
✦ Emotions & interpretations of viewer
✦ Historical context can help construct
response
✦ One of the most bloody and brutal battles
of the Civil War.
✦The tone seems very bleak.
✦The somber facial expressions of the
men, coupled with the barren grass and
sparse trees give an overall impression of
death and dying.
✦There is also a sense of loneliness about
the figure of President Lincoln.
✦Although standing next to two men, he
seems totally isolated.
✦He is unresponsive to the camera; rather
than making eye contact, he stares
distantly off into space, increasing the
sense of isolation.

5. FORMAL
ANALYSIS
✦ Using Elements of Art to describe which are most
strongly represented
✦Very distinct lines and geometric shapes are
immediately apparent.
✦These lines and shapes function to frame and
to move the viewer's eye towards the central
subject, President Lincoln.
✦All of the lines in the image draw the eye
toward the figure of the president.
✦The tent forms an inverted "V" shape directly
behind Lincoln, while the vertical tent post and
tree trunk in the background further elongate
Lincoln's already tall figure, clearly emphasizing
Lincoln's figure in the composition.
✦A stark contrast between the white of Lincoln's
shirt and his black suit, which further draws our
attention towards the president's face.
✦There is also a sense of balance, with the
figures standing to either side of the president in
similar poses, like mirror images.

6. JUDGEMENT
✦ Decide if the photo is successful
or has merit.
✦ Support your judgement with
answers for the 1st 3 steps.

7. PHOTOGRAPHER’S DECISIONS
• Ask “why” questions to put you in the scene &
into the mind of the photographer.

8. • What is the composition?
• What moment in time does the photograph
capture?
• What is the focal point of the photograph?
• Why did the photographer select these particular
elements to include in the photograph?
• What don’t you see?

9. •Why did the photographer emphasize certain
elements and not others?
•What’s in focus?
•Is only one person or element in focus, or are
many elements in focus?
•Why did the photographer take the picture at
this moment

10. •What happened before or after this picture was
taken?
•Why did the photographer take the picture from
this angle?
•What might the scene have looked like from
another vantage point — from left, right, behind,
above, or below?

11. IMPLICIT OR EXPLICIT
•EXPLICIT = distinct visual clues that tell us who
the people are, what they are doing, and where
and when the photograph was taken.
•IMPLICIT = implied but not clearly
communicated by the photographer, or left to be
inferred by the viewer.