Analysis - The Photographers Eye

In 'Introduction to the Photographer Eye', John Szarkowski simplified analysising a photograph into 5 topics (for use of a better word).

• The Thing Itself
• The Detail
• The Frame
• The Time
• The Vantage Point

The Thing Itself



When analysising a picture we look at the photograph and what it is capturing in it's frame. We look at what the object(s) infront of the camera are, for example this picture above (Lunch Atop a Skyscaper [1932], Charles C. Ebbets) is literally capturing 11 men eating lunch, seated on a girder with their feet dangling hundreds of feet above the New York streets.  There are no hidden messages in the image, and you don't need any background history about the image to understand what it is portraying.

The Detail

When analysising a photograph we look at the details of the image to understand and feel the full effect of what is being captured. One part of the image represents the whole, but without that 'part' the whole has a completely different effect and meaning. For example this photograph (My Fathers Coat, New York City, [2001], Robert Frank) was purposely shot in 3 different images, without the final image these photographs appear to be just photographs of the photographer's father's coat, but the close up 'detail' of the 3rd photograph gives the three images a whole new meaning to the viewer.

The Frame

When looking at the image inside the frame of some photographs you will only understand what has been captured by the photographer as a preservation of a moment in the outside of the frame. For example, inside the frame of this photograph (The plight of Kosovo refugees [1999], Carol Guzy) a child being passed over a barbed wire fence, but without the knowledge that outside the frame this is a Kosovar refugee being passed through a barbed wire fence into the hands of grandparents at a camp run by United Arab Emirates in Kukes, Albania, we wouldn't understand or be effected by the image as was the photographers intention.

The Time

'subject was there but is here now' - Roland Barthes

When looking at a photograph we look at the time the photograph was taken and sometimes analysise how the image relates from then to now. For example, this photograph (Afghan Girl [1984], Steve McCurry) was taken in a rare moment because the faces of Afghan girls were mainly well-covered around men, this was and still is a tradition for women in Afghan.

The Vantage Point

The vantage point is essential in making the viewer feel like they are really at the scene of the image. The position of the camera, is like positioning your audience. For example, this photograph (Omaha Beach, Normandy, France [1944], Robert Capa) was taken on the beach on the morning of D-Day, The position of the photographyer and therefore the camera successfully positions the viewer on Omaha beach with the soldiers as they fought their way forward.