How to read a photo

To make your best photos, it's a huge help to first know how to read one.

Unfortunately, most photographers skip this crucial step in their early stages … and never get around to learning it later.

Most people blessed with vision have been looking at pictures our entire lives. Naturally, we come to take for granted that we are able see pictures. We learn from early childhood how to read language, but we're never actually taught how to read, analyse, or evaluate pictures. It's never too late to learn.

Of course, sometimes these skills are taught in art school. But the vast majority of enthusiastic photographers didn't go through art school. They were attracted to photography through other means, and started 'taking photos' without ever learning how pictures actually work.

As a result, we often look at pictures unconsciously, especially our own. We jump to conclusions, make assumptions, succumb to our biases. As we seek meaning and relevance, we easily overlook the physical mechanics of what's actually happening when we look at the picture, and these affect our interpretation of the image.

To make effective pictures, you need to understand these dynamics and deliberately control them. When you do, people viewing your photos will see exactly what you want them to.

In a previous email, I outlined the fundamental attributes of a photo that all viewers experience:

• Contrast
• Sharpness
• Proportions of size
• Directional indicators

Let's get into these in a little more detail.

Contrast – when you first encounter any picture, your visual system will instantly begin to evaluate it based entirely on the differences between things. The differences and juxtapositions of all the various elements form relationships in your mind. This information conveys meaning through recognition and, most importantly, association. Everything you comprehend is based on what you previously knew. And it's the differences between elements in the picture that delineate one thing from another.

Levels of brightness (along with variation in colour) are the primary types of contrast, and these will be the first thing you notice in a picture—light against dark and vice versa. When two elements are close in brightness or colour, they will appear to merge together in the picture. Luminance contrast is one of the most important aspects of design to bear in mind, and we'll explore this much more in the curriculum.

Sharpness – hard vs soft edges is another type of contrast. Edges and contours define where one object ends and another begins. Contrast and sharpness are directly related—strictly speaking, the sharpness of an edge is just the level of contrast between the elements on either side, defined by the distance or size of the boundary. Without contrast, you don't have sharpness. When you first see a picture, immediately after identifying the elements of luminance contrast, your eyes and brain will fixate on what is sharpest.

Our visual system will respond most immediately to contrast and sharpness because those areas convey the most information. Subconsciously we know that dim, murky or blurry areas won't give us as much information, so we are naturally attracted to what is sharp and clear. As the designer of the photograph you must never lose sight of this fact. You can use it to great effect in a multitude of ways.

The enlarged area clearly shows how sharpness—and the appearance of detail—is defined entirely by edge contrast. Areas with lower contrast will appear less sharp. (The effect is similar on film, but with stochastic grain rather than pixels.)
 

Proportions of size – yet another form of contrast. Large things vs small ones creates a strong distinction between them, furthering our comprehension of what we're looking at and imparting the meaning behind it. Larger objects carry more importance, and thus visual weight. But a small thing can also carry great power in a picture, depending on how it compares with elements around it. Understanding and using the sizes (and shapes) of objects in your picture space is one of your main tools as a photographic designer, and you will learn a lot more about using these in the Photocraft Framework.

Directional indicators – when you start paying close attention, you'll find that many things we see convey some kind of directional energy. They point us from one place to another. The effects of this are especially profound within a photograph, because a two-dimensional picture has defined edges which constrain eye travel. Within the frame, certain elements will create eye movement one direction or another. Sometimes this directional pull is defined by a visible line; other times the path is invisible. The shape of an object can have a strong effect on whether a direction is activated. The most obvious example is a triangle which, depending on it's orientation, will strongly point in a specific direction. You can be sure that when an object points a certain direction, the viewer's eye will follow. Conversely, circles and squares don't usually point any specific direction (but a rectangle could).

Tip: In Western countries, where written language reads left to right and top to bottom, we become accustomed to these directions of eye movement and comprehension. You may notice that eye travel in a photograph going from right to left or bottom to top can feel more difficult or uncomfortable, simply because your visual system has been conditioned otherwise.

Practicing reading pictures
Now that you're familiar with the most important mechanics of how we see and respond to a picture in the physical sense, you can begin to read all pictures more conscientiously. Effectively reading pictures, especially photographs, starts with simply paying attention and remaining aware of the experience. This is easier when it's not your own photo, but you can learn to read your own pictures better, too.

First, always pay careful attention to how your eyes most naturally move around the picture space. This is especially important when you see a new photo for the first time—but this can also be the most difficult, because so much happens instantaneously and subconsciously. When you encounter an image, notice what you see first, and then consciously trace the path your eye takes around the picture.

Once you recognise the way your eyes are moving, you can also think more consciously about what you are seeing and the meaning you're getting from the picture content and the subject matter.

As you continue looking at the photo, become aware of how aspects of the picture evoke intellectual and emotional responses within you. Graphic elements can carry deep symbolism for us, eliciting psychological responses we're not always aware of. Shapes, lines, patterns and textures all affect how a picture feels.

Doing this, you can also become more mindful of what the photographer was thinking and feeling at the time the photo was made. Even if you don't agree, or don't personally find the picture appealing, you can better understand the intention behind it. You can also better understand exactly why you like the picture or not. With practice, this will also bring you more clarity in the construction of your own images.

The Photocraft Academy curriculum goes much deeper, covering these topics and more in great detail. All with the aim of giving you the practical design skills to consistently create your best photographs.