How to describe a photo.

When i looked online to help with what to say about a photo here is what i found:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

This website might be useful for you:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/writing/…

First of all, it gives you some general information about picture description.
Then it provides the following word lists:

Kinds of pictures and perspectives:
viewer
picture, image
painting
photograph / photo
portrait
landscape painting
worm's eye view
bird's eye view

Structure:
foreground
background
in the upper part
in the lower part
in the left part
in the right part
in the central part
in front of
behind
next to …
on the right
on the left
in the middle
from front
from behind
from above
from below
the second from left/right

Others:
artificial light
daylight
subdued light
light colours
dark colours
loud colours
contrasty
vanishing point
vanishing line

Information on artist and year of origin:
… (image) is a painting by … (artist), painted in … (year).
… (image), painted in … (year), is a work by … (artist)
… (artist) painted … (image) in … (year).
… (image) is a famous painting by … (artist).

Describing the scene
The picture was taken in … (place).
The photo was taken at … (party).
The picture shows a scene from …
It's an image of … (place, person, scene).
The picture describes … (scene).
The picture shows … (place, person, scene) from a distance.
… (place, person, scene) is shown from … (a bird's eye view/…).
You look at … (place, person, scene) from … (above/behind/…).

What can you see?:
In the picture you can see …
… (position: on the left/right/…) there is / are …
… (position: on the left/right/…) you can see …
… is … (position: on the left/right/…)

Impression:
… gives the impression of depth.
… (person) seems to look at the viewer.
His / Her eyes seem to follow the viewer.
The figures look as if they exist in three dimensions.
The viewer has the impression that the people in the picture are alive.
The viewer's attention is focused on …
To the alert eye it will become apparent …
The viewer finds it difficult to withdraw his eyes from …
The painting is vivid / happy / expressive.
The picture makes the viewer feel … (sad/happy)
The picture inspires the viewer to think about …

Intention:
The artist mainly uses … (colours/forms/…)
Important elements are highlighted.
The artist / photographer / painter uses … to express …
He / She (probably) wants to criticise / express / show …
It is obvious that the artist wants to criticise / express / show …
What the artist / photographer / painter wants to criticise / express / show is …

What the artist / photographer / painter wants to point out is …:
I think / believe / am sure that …
It seems / appears to me that …
The problem illustrated here is …
… symbolises …
… is typical of …Picture Description

Reason

A picture description is an ideal way of practising your English vocabulary in all sorts of fields. And there's also a benefit for everyday life – imagine you want to show pictures of your family or home to your foreign friends.

Describing paintings or other art pictures (e. g. caricatures) is something for the advanced learner of English as you also have to talk about the artists intention and the impression on the viewer.

Preparation

Have a close look at the picture and decide on how to structure your picture description. What is important or special? What should the viewer pay attention to?

Structure and Content

It's not easy to follow a picture description if the writer jumps randomly from one point to another. Therefore, make sure that your picture description is logically structured, for example:

§  from left to right (or from right to left)

§  from the background to the foreground (or from the foreground to the background)

§  from the middle to the sides (or from the sides to the middle)

§  from details to general impressions (or from general impressions to details)

Which structure you finally choose depends on your taste and the picture you want to describe.

Pictures in General

§  short description of the scene (e. g. place, event)

§  details (who / what can you see)

§  background information (if necessary) on place, important persons or event

Paintings

§  name of artist and picture, year of origin (if known)

§  short description of the scene (e. g. place, event)

§  details (who / what can you see)

§  impression on the viewer

§  artist's intention