Photographs & Pictorial Material
- The command word for photographs is usually describe
- This is about observational skills and understanding what is being viewed
- When describing look for:
| Observation | Description |
| Physical features | Vegetation, climate, relief, drainage, distinct features (cliff, river, desert, landslide etc) rocky outcrops etc. |
| Human features | Grouping of buildings - offices, homes, factories etc. Urban or rural or fringe settlements. Industry and transport developed or developing areas and general condition of features. Busy, quiet, modern, old etc. |
| Relief | Height and shape of ground surface, named features, overall appearance |
| Agriculture | Animals - type and spread, vegetation type - grass, barren, sparse etc. Land type - arable or pasture, ploughed or fallow, crops or harvested etc. Types of farm buildings and machinery and condition |
| Settlements | Rural or urban, features of buildings, types of buildings, use of settlements and buildings, spacing between or among buildings - linear, dispersed nucleated |
| Housing | Size and storey - bungalow, large, multi-storey, skyscraper etc. number of windows, are there building plots or vacant sites, on the urban fringe or new build etc. |
Exam Tip
- The command word for photographs is usually describe
- This means 'say what you can actually see', not 'what you think'
- The 'what and why' usually comes in a later question
- You will not gain extra marks for explaining, but lose out on precious time
- I am looking at a photograph of a black cat and describe it as having:
- Long tail, pointed ears, long whiskers, four paws and black fur
- Now I look at a photograph of my pet cat and describe her:
- Jess has black fur with a little bit of white on her tummy. Her fur is soft, and she has long whiskers and a stubby tail. Jess has sharp claws and purrs a lot, even though she has lost a tooth, she can still bite when she is annoyed.
- Note the difference? The first describes a cat, the second one describes a cat I know, but the photo wouldn't tell me that the cat has long claws, lost a tooth, bites, purrs or has soft fur.
- Always remember to say what you can see in the photograph ONLY
Field Sketches
- Should include location/site number, title and compass direction
- Includes the key features at a site
| Strengths | Limitations |
| Things can be left out of the sketch if they are not relevant to the enquiry | The scale in the sketch may be inaccurate |
| Smaller important areas can be more detailed | Important details may be missed |
| Gives a broad overview of the features | The sketch may contain inaccuracies which affect the analysis for example more litter than there actually was at the site |
| Helps recall of key features |
- In the exam, sketching and labelling key features from a photographs is sometimes asked
- Total accuracy or artistic prowess is not assessed, however, important features such as rivers, coastlines, hills, etc. must be identified
- Follow the geographical rules for sketching:
- Draw a box to frame the sketch
- Always draw in pencil
- Use colour to highlight a feature
- Use a ruler for straight lines and arrows
- Arrow goes to the feature not the label
- Never cross arrow lines
- Write horizontally to the arrow in pen
Worked example
The photograph below shows a feature of a river in its upper course.
- Identify the landform in the photograph [1]
- Sketch and label the key features of this landform [4]
- Waterfall and gorge
