Evaluate images

Studying images, paintings and photography gives you an insight into society and people that books and websites may not. When analysing images, think about:

  • the details, especially in the background – clothing, buildings, cars etc. whether the image matches information in written documents describing the same people or events
  • whether the image matches information in written documents describing the same people or events

In 1835, William Buckley met European settlers at Indented Head. Almost every image of the event shows John Batman at this meeting, but his diary shows he was on his way back to Tasmania at the time.

  • how the subject of the picture is represented – how does this affect what you think about the person, place or event?
  • whether the image contains any symbols – if so, what do they mean and why have they been used?
  • whether an image – photograph, illustration or painting – has been manipulated so that details have been changed or left out
  • whether a portrait was completed in the subject's lifetime, or whether the artist was working from memory
  • whether an illustration is a figurative or a literal representation.
Photographs can be realistic, factual images, but they only reveal what the photographer wants you to see.