Responding to the work of a photographer / artist. Write down some basic information.
Name of the photographer / artist Name of the piece Date of the piece
Next look at the piece for a while and write down one or more of the following:
How it makes you feel – angry, sad, amused. The mood of the piece – serious, funny, dreamy. What it reminds you of – another art piece, a film you have seen, a story you have heard. What it makes you think about – your own childhood, prejudice. Why you think the photographer / artist produced it - advertising, fashion, news, self expression etc.
Now start to ‘unpick’ the piece and look at how it has been created and how some of the techniques, methods and approaches used have had an impact on how you responded to the image at the beginning.
Where was it taken – particular location, studio? When was it taken – now, past if so when, could be made to look old? What is it a picture of – young child, old decaying building? What kind of lighting was used -natural, studio, domestic? How has the lighting been used -direction, hard / soft, bright / dim? Where was the photographer in relation to the subject -above, below, behind, on the same level? What are the colours like -muted, strong, clashing, harmonious, no colour – monochrome? What about the tones in the photograph -high contrast, low contrast, mainly dark, mainly light? Are there clearly defined shapes -can you see the outlines of things clearly in the image? What about texture -can you see the surface of things clearly and imagine how they might feel to touch? Are there any strong lines leading your eye into or around the image or are lines fuzzy and vague? Is there any repetition (are there patterned surfaces or are any objects / people repeated? How do things occupy physical space -do they seem heavy, light, big, huge, small in relation to each other? What about focus -is everything crystal clear, are only some things focused, is nothing in focus? How has the focus been created -shutter speed – motion blur or freeze, aperture – depth of field? How was the image made -physical collage, Photoshop, camera settings, layering, using old images?