I love to dissect a photo. I prefer to analyze what's really going on in the photo rather than judging the appearance of the people. Especially the Facebook uploads. The cell phone photos are the most revealing.
When I view a photo, I scan for a few things:
- Venue
- Proximity of the subjects to each other
- Backgrounds
- Expressions
The first thing I look at is the background. The background is usually not considered by most people that take cell phone pictures but it tells 90% of the story.
Types of Backgrounds
- There's the bathroom/public restroom background with the mirror in the shot.
- The shot with the bar in the background, also known as the see Me at the Club shot.
- I'm looking good today shot but my bedroom is a hot mess background.
- See me with him or her on the couch with date and time stamp. Also known and the proof and evidence background.
- Kids gone wild shot with the we forgot to clean first background.
- Look at us at our fabulous event shot with the beer in plastic cups background.
- I'm in my vehicle shot with fingerprints and streaks from the dog licking on the windows background.
- The kid with the new toy shot with the we had a good Christmas background.
- The I'm fancy shot but I don't clean my stove background.
It's all out there on the world wide web and there are hundreds of people just like me analyzing those photos and making simple deductions from the backgrounds. These photos tell the stories of how we socialize and live. We open the door of our private lives so freely with just one shot. The next time you take a photo or allow yourself to be photographed, think about everything that may show up in the shot.
