Week Two: Photo Analysis

Photo Analysis Guide Picture

Photo Analysis Worksheet

Step 1. Observation
A.	Study the photograph for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the photograph and then examine individual items. Next, divide the photo into quadrants and study each section to see what new details become visible. The picture from the Photo Analysis Guide Link gives me an impression of poverty and depression.
B.	Use the chart below to list people, objects, and activities in the photograph. People Objects Activities Shoeless children Dead donkey Children with no chaperones Young children (about 5 years) to older children (about 10 years) in the street near a dead donkey Horse and buggies Children gathered in the street Adults standing in the background Old and weathered buildings Adults talking in the distance A small child walking by himself away from the camera Street lamp Horse and buggies driving in the distance Bricked streets and sidewalks Unoccupied wagon
Step 2. Inference  (Limit response for each question to 5 lines of text)
	Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this photograph. I would infer that the picture was taken during the Depression Era, because of the barefooted children hanging out in the bricked streets. One of the boys is wearing a hat that makes me think that the picture was taken in the ‘30s. The children’s clothes (suspenders and overalls) and the mode of transportation (horse and buggies) also look like they come from that decade. The dead animal in the street shows me that times are hard, because no one is trying to remove it from the road. It’s just left to the side out of the way from the horse and buggies.
Step 3. Questions
A.	What questions does this photograph raise in your mind? Why are the children gathered around the dead animal in the street? Why are they sitting in the street and barefoot? Why are the children not supervised by an adult? What situation caused a person to take the photograph?
B.	Where could you find answers to them? I could find the answers to my questions by researching the era and mannerisms of the Great Depression. I could look online or in encyclopedias.  I also, could try to find the picture through Google images (there is a little information about the picture on the top left-hand side of the picture).

Designed and developed by the

Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administraion,

Washington, DC 20408