Directions Toward Reading Still Images Rhetorically:
Advertisements, Photographs, Paintings

[From the First-Year Writing Program}

The Subject's Gaze                                               

• What or who is/are the subject/s of the image?
• Does the subject of the image look off into the distance, confront the camera, or not look at anything at all? 
• What does the subject's look suggest? Is  it a look of empowerment? Of despair? Of resistance? Of vulnerability? Etc.
• How would you describe the facial expressions?
• What does the subject's gaze indicate about social class relations or tensions?  Gender relations?  Racial relations?
• Is there an apparent reciprocal gaze/look among the subjects in the image?

Camera's Gaze (Perspective)

• How would you describe the photographer's gaze or painter's perspective? 
• Is the camera angle or perspective straight ahead, high, low, slanted, etc.?
• How is the subject matter framed?
• Are there any off center angles, jarring color combinations, or anything that would suggest that a camera has been at work? 
• Does your gaze at the photograph seem to overlap with the photographer's or painter's gaze?  Are you encouraged to share the photographer's or painter's interest?
• Does the camera establish an illusion of intimacy and communication?

Compositional Elements

• What are the components of the image?
• How are the various elements within the image arranged?
• To what part of the image is your eye drawn and why?
• Does the image contain an iconic reference or symbol? If so, what is its meaning?
• What use is made of color (hue, value) and light?

Narrative Elements

• Is there anything that functions like a caption?  If so, how does the image and caption/text interact?  What is the rhetorical function of the caption? How does the caption/text shape your reading of the image?
• What kinds of stories does the image tell?
• What story does the subjects' gaze at or away from each other tell?
• Is there an implied chronology? Did something happen before the moment of the image?  Is it clear that something will happen next?

 Genre Analysis

• Does the image represent a particular genre or sub-genre? (documentary photograph, government propaganda, medical case-history, advertisement)
• What do you know about the particular genre or sub-genre?
• How might have conventions or exceptions of the genre shaped this representation?
• Does the image expose or challenge certain characteristics of its genre?

Audience & Context Analysis

• Who were the original intended audiences?  Where might this image have been originally displayed?
• What are the differences between original audiences and more recent audiences?
• What details in the image indicate a particular audience?
• What rhetorical appeals are discernable? Does the image appeal to a viewer's emotions?
• What do you know about the context in which the image appeared? 
• How does the context in which you first viewed the image shape how you see and interpret the image?
• Are there elements of the image that encourage you to resist or accept the perspective of the image-maker?
• How might your own personal, cultural, and political background or interests shape your interpretation?