Content: What, Literally, Does the Photograph Depict? Who Or What Is the Subject of The

· Content: What, literally, does the photograph depict? Who or what is the subject of the photo? What is the setting?

· Cultural context: What is the historical context of the photograph? If it “documents” a particular event, person, or historical moment, how prominently does this photograph factor into our understanding of this event, person, or place? (For instance, is it the only known photograph of an event, or is it one of a series of pictures taken of the same subject?)

· Material context: Where was this photograph reproduced or displayed (an art gallery, the cover of a magazine, the front page of a newspaper)? If it was published elsewhere originally, does this source credit the original?

· Argument: What, thematically, does the photograph depict? What is its message to the audience? For instance, while the photo might show a group of people standing together, its argument might be about love, family unity across generations, or a promise for the future.

· Photographer: Who took this photograph? What was the person’s purpose?

· Audience: Who was the photographer’s intended audience?

· Purpose: What is the photograph’s purpose? Is it intended to be overtly argumentative and to move its audience to action? Or is the argument more subtle, even to the point of seeming objective or representational?

· Rhetorical stance: How does the composition of the photo convey a sense of the rhetorical stance or point of view of the photographer? Pay attention to issues of focus (what is “in focus”? This may differ from the ostensible “focus” of the picture); cropping (what is “in” the picture, and what has been left “out”?); color (is the picture in black and white? color? sepia?); setting (what backdrop has the photographer chosen?); and perspective (are we looking down? up?).

· Representation versus reality: Does this photograph aspire to represent reality, or is it an overtly abstract piece? Is there any indication of photo manipulation, editing, or other alteration? If so, what rhetorical purpose does this serve—what argument does this alteration make?

· Word and image: Does the photo have a caption? Does the image accompany an article, essay, or other lengthy text? How does the image function in dialogue with this verbal text? Does it offer visual evidence? Does it argue an independent point? Does it provide a counterargument to the print text?

Alfano & O’Brien. Envision: Writing & Researching Arguments. NY: Pearson, 2010. 2