Photo Analysis

This picture is very striking. It is very loud and “in your face”. The colors are very vibrant and saturated. The first thought I had when seeing this picture was actually some sort of scared and threatening feeling. Something about this picture brings up negative feelings. I think it’s a mix of the harsh colors, close perspective, and plain background.

               The color is really the first thing that pops out at me. The overall tone of the picture is a deep red, mostly coming from the color of the lipstick and the gums. The color of the woman’s skin even has red in it, giving her the rosy cheeks. The red color is make its seem as if the woman may be embarrassed, or maybe its warm outside, or maybe she just has a reddish complexion. I like to think that this color of her skin is from blushing for some reason or another. This overall red tone of the photo even makes her teeth seem to have a hint of red. The only other color in this photo is the black background. This makes me think that it is either night time or she is in a dark room. Whatever the background is I do not think it really matters. I think the blackness of the background is there so it easier to focus on the subject of the picture.

               The extreme detail of this picture is another obvious part of this picture. The picture focuses just on the smile of the woman and not much else. The photographer chose to leave out the eyes of his/her subject which is a bit of an oddity. The easiest way to tell people apart and give them “a face” is usually through their eyes. That’s why super heroes almost always wear masks over their eyes. I believe the photographer really like the smile of this woman and that’s all he/she felt necessary to include. The lipstick and food on the woman’s teeth makes the photo seem natural and not staged. If it were to be set up the usual thing to do would be to make sure everything in the photo is immaculate and perfect.

               I have a theory about this picture. It seems to me like this woman is on some sort of date and the photographer is just fixated on this woman’s smile because they love it some much. I think they are at dinner or at a movie hence the dark background and the food in her teeth. I think she is blushing because this may be their first or second date and she still is a bit nervous and blushes. That date theory also explains the vibrant red lipstick.