Questions to ask about formal visual aspects of an image:
• Technique: How was the image drawn, painted, engraved, photographed, etc.? Is it
created by hand, or digitally? Why might this choice have been made?
• Composition: Is there a focal point? Is the composition crowded, open, varied, or
repetitious? Is the composition symmetrical?
• Space: Does the image depict a deep, or flattened space? How does the primary subject
relate to the space around it?
• Angle: Is the subject depicted from an exaggerated angle, or as if you are looking straight
at it? What is the effect of this angle?
• Focus: What areas appear clearest or sharpest? What is fuzzy, or shown in less detail?
• Light: What areas are highlighted? Are there areas of shadow? Is the light natural or
artificial? Harsh or soft? Does the light correspond to a particular time of day?
• Color: Is the image in color, or black and white? Are the hues natural or artificial?
How intense is the color?
• Scale: What is larger or smaller in the image? Are these naturally occurring
relationships, or do they seem intentional?
• Line: Are the lines straight, curvy, thin, thick? Do the lines create direction in the
image? Do they outline? Do the lines indicate movement or energy?
• Repetition: are there any objects, shapes or lines that repeat or create a pattern?
• Size: Is it large or small on the page? In relation to article text?
• Text: What kind of typeface or font is used? Is it curvy or straight? Is it mechanical, or
does it imply a human hand? Does it call to mind a particular era?
Questions to ask about content when looking at an image:
• What did you notice first, and what was it about this aspect of the image that caught your
attention?
• What is the obvious/surface purpose of your image and/or ad?
• Who is the intended audience for the image/ad? What makes you think this?
• How are the people in the image/ad depicted? Are they presented in ways that align to
particular archetypes or stereotypes? What makes you think this?
• What is the setting, or background of the image/ad? Is it specific or general? Concrete, or
abstract?
• What objects are depicted in the image, and how do they affect how you understand the
setting and people?
• What are the implicit, or “hidden” messages of the image/ad?
• How do the formal elements of the image (composition, use of space, color, pattern,
light, perspective, focus) work to convey meaning?
• How would the image read if it depicted people of different genders, races or ages? What
if the setting were different?
Objective Observation Subjective Observation Knowledge/Deduction Questions
What do you see in the image? Name
forms and structures, as if you were
describing the image to someone who
can't see it. Simply describe, don't
evaluate or add commentary.
Describe your personal feelings,
associations, and judgments about the
image. Start with what you see, and then
say what your response is. For example:
"I see…and it makes me think of…"
What new information might you get
from the image that relates to
knowledge you bring to the subjects
depicted?
What questions are raised by this image?