CRITIQUE

HOW TO ANALYZE

3 STEPS

1. Description

2. Reflection

3. Formal Analysis

4.Judgement

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

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.

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.

JUDGEMENT✦ Decide if the photo is successful

or has merit.

✦ Support your judgement with

answers for the 1st 3 steps.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S DECISIONS

• Ask “why” questions to put you in the scene &

into the mind of the photographer.

• 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?

•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

•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?

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.