Photo Quick Write - Comparing 2 Approaches

For the quick write exercise, I was initially given a photograph and told to write what I saw. The photograph was black and white, showing four younger women standing close together in a group in some unrecognizable outdoor setting. It resembled a typical group portrait style photograph, displayed in horizontal format, showing each from the torso up. All of the women are shown facing towards the viewer, making eye contact with the camera.

My photograph description was focused heavily on specific formal qualities or subject matter (examples: format, distance between photographer and subjects being photographed, depth of field, composition of figures in frame, etc.). Some keys words that helped to organize my description included framing, focus, contrast, time, confrontation with the viewer, composition, and lighting. I wrote my ideas in a list as I thought of them, explaining in a good amount of detail as an elaboration of each bullet. While the majority of my writing was focused on subject matter, I did include some speculation about the subject of the photograph, such as the possible age of the figures, how they might be related or why they're grouped together, and what their type of clothing suggests about their lives.

The other person who received this photograph wrote a description that seemed more focused on subject rather than subject matter or formal qualities. The description was shorter, and organized into more of a brief listing of ideas instead of a rambling of elaborate detail. Some examples of heir ideas include: the women seem close to one another, possibly a sisterhood relationship, possibly some sort of marriage involved with one of the women (wedding ring shown), natural appearances, etc. Many of these ideas represent this viewer's own perspective and background that they bring to the image, as well as their understanding of what certain aspects of the subject matter might signify about the overall subject of the photograph.