Natural English Intermediate Unit 11
The three spaces below are for photos from important times in your life which you are going to describe. You can put real photos there, sketch a photo, or just describe the photo from memory. If you can’t think of three real photos, think of three important times and describe photos that could have been taken then.
Take turns describing one of your photos for as long as you can, with the other person just listening then asking for more details. Your teacher will tell you if, when and how to use the useful phrases below to help.
Useful language for describing photos
- In/ Near + the top/ bottom + right hand/ left hand + corner,…
- At/ Near + the top/ the bottom,…
- On the (far) right/ left,…
- In the centre/ middle,…
- In the background/ In the distance,… – In the foreground,…
- It was taken in a park/ in a studio/ in a photo booth/ in…
- It was taken at a birthday party/ at a wedding/ at…
- It was taken by a passerby / by a professional photographer/ by…
- It was taken with a digital camera/ with a film camera/ with an instamatic camera/ with a phone/ with a tripod/ with a flash/ with a telephoto lens/ with zoom/ with…
- It shows…
- This (thing/ person) is…
- As you can see,…
- It’s difficult to see but…/ If you look (really) closely,…
- You can’t tell from the photo, but…
- It looks (like), but (in reality)…
- Blurred
- (Deliberately) out of focus/ Soft focus
- Red eye
- Black and white – Colour
- A head and shoulders shot/ A portrait/ An action shot/ A passport photo/ A close up/ A school photo/ A wedding photo/ A graduation photo/ A group photo/ A (formal) family photo/ A…
- It’s been trimmed/ been photoshopped/ been blown up/ been…
- A pose
- It was printed…/ was developed…/ was…
- The negative
- Slides
- It’s on Instagram/ on…
- I keep it in my wallet/ in my purse/ in an album/ in…
- I had it framed (and display it…)
- It’s my profile picture (on…)
When your teacher stops you, ask about any language above you aren’t sure about.
Optional extension
Do the same for three different photos that your teacher tells you to describe, e.g. three photos related to sports.
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