General Vocabulary Used in Photography
A guide to terms used when describing and analysing photographs.
Booklet based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006
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General Vocabulary Used in Photography
The following terms are the basic vocabulary used in describing photographs. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.
Abstract:
An image that emphasizes formal (line, shape, etc) elements rather than specific, recognizable objects.
Stadium - Tina Modotti - 1933
Contents: The subject, topic or information captured in a photograph Portrait Of The Marquis De Casati - Man Ray - 1933
Direct approach: Confronting a scene in a straight forward manner without using unusual angles or distortion. Execution Of A Vietcong Prisoner - Eddie Adams - 1968
Documentary photography: Photographs whose main purpose is to record a place, person(s) or event. Omaha Beach - Robert Capa - 1944
Expressive: Concerned with communicating emotion. Boy Behind Cracked Window - Eliott Erwit - 1955
Geometric shape: Simple rectilinear or curvilinear shapes found in geometry, such as circles, squares, triangles, etc. Fageol Ventilators - Imogen Cunningham - 1934
Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006
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General Vocabulary Used in Photography
The following terms are the basic vocabulary used in describing photographs. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.
Intention:
Reson(s) why the artist made a work of art. Providence, Rhode Island - Francessca Woodman - 1976
Landscape: An image that portrays the natural environment. Jeffrey Pine - Ansel Adams - 1940
Objective: A point of view free from personal bias, which attempts to consider all available information with equal regard and fairness.
Behind The Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris - Henri Cartier Bresson - 1932
Organic shape: Shapes based on natural objects such as trees, mountains, leaves, etc. Photogenic Drawing- William Henry Fox Talbot - 1835
Representational: An image which shows recognizable objects. Mellas Typewriter - Tina Modotti - 1928
Subject : The main object or person(s) in a photograph. Izu, Japan - Seichi Furuya - 1986
Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006
Focus:
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Visual Elements Practice the use of these words by asking the questions listed after them. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.
What areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? What do not?
Woman with locket - Diane Arbus - 1965
Light: What areas of the photograph are most highlighted? Are there any shadows? Is the light natural or artificial? Reflected or directed?
Nude - Bill Brandt - 1952
Line: Are there objects that act as lines? Are they straight, curvy, thick or thin? Do they create movement or direction? Do they outline?
Madonna - Ralph Eugene Meatyard - 1964
Repetition: Are there any objects, shapes or lines which repeat and create pattern? Tiles- Dadio Moriyama - 1986
Shape: Do you see geometrical or organic shapes? What are they? RCA Building at night - Andreas Feiningerr - 1944
Texture : If you could touch the surface of the photograph how would it feel? How would the objects in the picture look like they would feel? Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006
Scenes on the Death of Nature, II - Anne Ferran - 1986
Space:
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Composition of the Photograph Use these words to describe how visual elements combine within a photograph. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.
Is there depth to the photograph or does it seem shallow? What creates this appearance?
The Chantilly Viaduct - Édouard-Denis Baldus - 1855
Value: Is there a range of tones from dark to light? Where is the darkest value? Where is the lightest? Boys in Niigata, Japan - Hiroshi Hamaya - 1942
Angle: The vantage point from which the image was taken; generally used when discussing an image taken from an unusual angle.
Bauhaus Balconies, 1926 - László Moholy-Nagy - 1926
Background: The part of the scene or picture that is or seems to be towards the back. Beaufort, South Carolina- Robert Frank - 1955
Balance: The distribution of visual elements in a photograph. Washroom in the Dog Run of Floyd Burroughs`s House, Hale County, Alabama - Walker Evans - 1936
Central Focus : The object(s) which appears most prominently and/or most clearly focused in a photograph. Blind Twins, Saint-Mandé, France - Jane Evelyn Atwood - 1980
Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006
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Composition of the Photograph Use these words to describe how visual elements combine within a photograph. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.
Composition:
What areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? What do not?
San Paulo, Brazil - RenĂŠ Burri - 1960
Contour: The outline of an object or shape. Nude - Imogen Cunnigham - 1932
Contrast: Strong visual differences between light and dark, varying textures, sizes, etc. Broadway - Bernice Abbott - 1964
Framing: What the photographer has placed within the boundaries of the photograph. Lake Michigan - Harry Callahan - 1953
Setting: Actual physical surroundings or scenery wether real or artificial. Lee Miller in Hitlers bath, Munich - David E. Shermann - 1945
Vantage point : The place from which a photographer takes a photograph. Flyers - John Paul Caponigro - 2000
Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006