General Vocabulary

used in PhotoGraPhy

A guide to terms used when describing and analysing photographs.

Booklet based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

General Vocabulary

used in PhotoGraPhy

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

The following terms are the basic vocabulary used in describing photographs. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.

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Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

General Vocabulary

used in PhotoGraPhy

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

The following terms are the basic vocabulary used in describing photographs. All the images have been cropped and show details from the original image.

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Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

Focus: 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?

Scenes on the Death of Nature, II - Anne Ferran - 1986

Visualelements

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.

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Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

comPosition oF the

PhotoGraPh

space: 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

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.

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Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

comPosition oF the

PhotoGraPh

composition: What areas appear clearest or sharpest in the photograph? What do not?

San Paulo, Brazil - René 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

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Poster based upon information published by Barbican Education 2006

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.