How to describe a photo or picture
Kinds of pictures
picture / image / painting / photo / portrait / landscape painting / poster / cartoon / drawing / front page / comic strip
What is in the picture?
In the picture I can see ...
You can see …
There’s / There are ...
The photo was taken at …
The picture depicts a … (scene).
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.
Say what is happening with the present continuous
The man is ...ing
The people are ...ing
The woman is wearing a …
It’s raining.
Where in the picture?
At the top/bottom of the picture ...
On the left/right of the picture ...
In the top right-hand corner …
In the bottom right-hand corner …
In the top left-hand corner …
In the bottom left-hand corner …
In the background …
In the foreground …
In the middle/centre of the picture …
To the right / left of the woman …
If something isn’t clear
It’s not very clear but probably …
It looks like a ...
It’s some kind of a …
It might be a ...
He could be ...ing
It seems as if …
Maybe it’s a ...
Apparently, …
Seemingly, …
The artist / photographer probably wants to show …
I think / believe / am sure that …
It seems / appears to me that …
He appears to be ... ing.
I can't make it out.
Impression
It looks sensational.
It's quite a bleak image.
… (person) seems to look at the viewer.
It's a truly powerful image.
The photographer has captured some typical scenes of ...
It's a very well-composed photo. There's a perfect balance between the foreground and the sky and the land.
The viewer has the impression that the people in the picture are alive.
The viewer's attention is focused on …
The expression on the man's face really makes me smile.
It's a very evocative image. You can't look at it without feeling something.
The rather meaningful expression on the woman's face seems to be saying: ...
The general impression we get is that of … (peaceful togetherness / violent uproar / an idyllic scenery)
At first glance one might think that …
… but a closer analysis shows that …
The painting is vivid / happy / expressive.
The picture makes the viewer feel … (sad/happy)
The picture inspires the viewer to think about …
The atmosphere is … (depressing/peaceful).
The photo makes me think of …
The picture appeals to me because …
The picture reminds me of …
From my point of view, …
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