h t t p : / / u w p . a a s . d u k e .

e d u / w s t u d i o
Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy:WritingAboutPhotography
Becausephotographyliterallymeanstowriteordrawwithlight,itseemsnatural that we areableto
readphotographsjustlikewe read anyothertext.Thishandoutwillprovideyouwith somebasicskills
ofvisualliteracy astheyapply tophotographystrategiesforreading,comprehending,andtranslating
imagesinto verbal language.
Whatarevisualliteracyandvisualrhetoric?
Visualliteracyreferstotheabilitytoreadanimage,muchlikethewaywereadlanguage.Thisform
ofliteracyrequiresanawarenessofvisualrhetoricthewaysthatvisualimagescommunicate
meaning.Visualrhetoricdoesnotonlyincludespecificconceptsofdesignoraesthetictheory.Italso
describeshowimagesreflect,communicate,andevenshapeculturalmeaning.Visualliteracyinvolvesall
theprocessesofknowingandrespondingtovisualimagesaswellastheideasthatinformthe
constructionormanipulationofculturalimages.
Howwasphotographyoriginallyconceived,andhowhasitchanged?
Then: When NicphoreNipceandLouisDaguerrebegantheirfirstphotographicexperimentsinthe
1820s,thefieldofphotography seemedstableandeasytodefine.Aphotographwassimplyanimage
capturedonfilmwithacamera, and photographsweredescribedasameansofcapturing orfreezing real
life.
Now: Theadventofdigitalphotography andgraphicdesignsoftware(suchasAdobePhotoshop)have
signaled asignificantchangeinthemedium.Methodsofcapturingimageshavebecomequicker,easier,
andmoreportable.Thedigitalrevolutionhasalso createdtheunprecedentedpossibilitytomanipulate
imagesfarbeyondtheiroriginalforms.Forexample,isadigitallytouchedupglamourshotstilla
photograph?WhataboutatimedelayimageorascreensaverdownloadedfromtheInternet?Likewise,
thewaywethinkaboutimageshasdramaticallychanged,fromavehicleofmeaningtothemeaning
itself.In1964,culturalcriticMarshallMcLuhanfamouslyannounced that themediumisthemessage.
Sincethen,newmethodsofsending,posting,sharing,andalteringimagesthroughinterconnected
mediahaverenderedphotographyan evermore ambiguous,complicated,andchangingfield.
Whatarethestandardcompositionelementsofaphotograph?
Overview
Wheredoesyoureyesettlewhenfirstlookingatthephotograph?Why?
Wheredoesyoureyemovenext?
Whataretheplanes/regionsofthephotograph(i.e.dividing,horizontalorverticallines)?
AnselAdams,MoonriseoverHernandez,NM,1941
LightValues
Whatislightandwhatisdarkinthephotograph?
Whatissignificantaboutwhatislight?
Whatissignificantaboutwhatisdark?
Howdotheselightvaluesdrawattentiontodetailsinthephotograph?
Howdotheyobscuredetails?
Background/Foreground(Focus)
Whatisforegroundedinthephotograph?
Whatisbackgroundedinthephotograph?
Whatissharplyinfocus?
Whatisblurryoroutoffocus?
Whatdetailsareemphasizedorobscuredbythesetechniques?
Detail
Whatdoyousee(literally)inthephotograph?Aretherepeople,places,orthings?
Arepeople shown?Describethem (intermsofrace,class,gender,occupation,etc).Whatarethey
doing?Canyougetasenseofhowtheyfeel,basedontheirfacialexpressions,bodyposes,or
interactionwithothers?
Whattypeofspacedoesthephotographshow?Isiturbanorrural?Insideoroutside?Inahome,
work,orleisureenvironment?Canyoutellthe specificlocation (town,state, region orcountry)?
Isthespaceopenorcrowded?Calmingordisorienting?Isitaneverydaysceneorsomething
unusual?
Whatotherobjectsareinthephoto?Howdotheyinteractwithoraugmentpeopleorplacesinthe
photo?
Gaze
Wherearepeopleinthephotographlooking?
Dotheyseemawareofthecamera?Ifso,whatistheirattitudetowardsit?
Whatissignificantaboutwheretheyarelookingorwhattheyarelookingat?
Isthereanythingsignificantaboutwhatthepersonisnotlookingat?
Frame/Cropping
Howcloselyisthephotographcroppedtothesubject?Istherelotsofbackgroundoralmostno
background?Doesthemainportionofthephotographgoalmosttotheedgesofthephotograph?
Doesitfeelcrowdedorspacious?
Whatmightlieoutsidetheframe?
Whatisnotshowninthephotograph,andhowmightthatbesignificant?
TheBlueMarble,2002. NASA GoddardSpaceFlightCenterImageby
RetoStckli(landsurface,shallowwater,clouds).Enhancementsby
RobertSimmon(oceancolor,compositing,3Dglobes,animation).Data
andtechnicalsupport:MODISLandGroupMODISScienceData
SupportTeamMODISAtmosphereGroupMODISOceanGroup
Additionaldata:USGSEROSDataCenter(topography)USGS
TerrestrialRemoteSensingFlagstaffFieldCenter(Antarctica)Defense
MeteorologicalSatelliteProgram(citylights).
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429
Whatarethekeystrategiesfor photographicanalysis?
Distinguishbetween factsandevidence
Discoverhowvariouspartsofanimagesupportalargerideaorconcept
Demonstratehowexplicitpartscombinetoformimplicitwholes
Addressspecificideas(how,forexample,anideaofpovertyissupportedbyelementswithinan
image),ormoretheoreticalpositions(how,forexample,thepartsofanimagespeaktoan
understandingofwar).
Accordingto WendyHesfordandBrendaJoBrueggemann,photographicanalysisinvolvesexaminingthe
image(s)intermsofsubject/content,perspective,andaudience/content,allpartofasocalledrhetorical
triangle (RhetoricalVisions:ReadingandWritinginaVisualCulture,UpperSaddleRiver,NJ: 2006,
insidefrontandbackcovers):
1. Subject/Content:
Thesubjectsoftheimage,theirappearanceandgaze
Thecomponentsoftheimage,theirarrangement,theuseofcolor,andwhereyoureyeis
drawnwithintheimage
Thetypesofnarrativeelementspresentintheimagewhatstoryistold?Isthereanimplied
chronologybeforeoraftertheimage?
2. Audience/Content:
Thehistoricalandculturalcontextsfromwhichtheimageemerged
Thehistoricalandculturalcontextsinwhichtheimageisseenorreadthecontexts
surroundingaudience
Themessage/imageitself,andhowhistoricalandculturalcontextsshapethewayaparticular
themeorsubjectispresented
3. Perspective
The photographers/filmmakersgazeorperspectiveandcameraangle.
Theframingofthesubjectmatter.
Theuseofthecameratoestablishanillusionofintimacy,orsenseofdistance.
WherecanIfindmoreinformationaboutphotographyandvisualliteracy?
Armstrong,Nancy.Fictioninthe Ageof Photography: TheLegacyofBritishRealism. Cambridge,MA:
HarvardUP,1999.
Beauchamp,DarrellG.,Braden,RobertsA.,andBaca,JudyClark,eds.Visualliteracy inthedigitalage:
selectedreadingsfromthe25thannual conferenceoftheInternationalVisualLiteracyAssociation.
Blacksburg,VA: InternationalVisualLiteracyAssociation,1994.
Berger,John.WaysofSeeing. NewYork: PenguinBooks,1972.
Dondis,DonisA.APrimerofVisualLiteracy. Cambridge,MA: MITPress,1973.
Hesford,Wendy,andBrueggemann,Brenda.RhetoricalVisions:ReadingandWritinginaVisual
Culture.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ: PrenticeHall,2006.
Messaris,Paul. VisualLiteracy:Image,Mind,andReality.Boulder,CO: WestviewPress,1994.
Sontag,Susan.OnPhotography. NewYork: DellPublishingCo.,1977.
HandoutsintheVisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracySeries
Overview:VisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracy
WritingaboutComicsandGraphicNovels
WritingaboutFilm
WritingaboutPaintings
WritingaboutPhotography
WritingwithMaps
UsingPowerPointandKeynoteEffectively
CreatingScientificPosterPresentations
CraftingandEvaluatingWebSites
Bannerphotographs:DorotheaLange,MigrantMother,1933JohnRooney/AssociatedPress,
MuhammadAlioverSonnyListon,1965SteveMcCurry/NationalGeographic,AfghanGirl,1984Joe
Rosenthal/AssociatedPress,RaisingtheFlagonIwoJima,1945MattyZimmerman/AssociatedPress
MarilynMonroe,1954.
1.Subject/Content
3.Perspective(TheRhetorsGaze)
TheRhetorical
Triangle
2.Audience and
Context