Descibing pictures

Describe a photo or picture

In some speaking exams you have to talk about photos or pictures. The video and tips below will help you to do really well in this type of speaking exam.

Here are our top tips for describing a photo or a picture in an exam.

Do:

• Look at your picture carefully and take a few moments to think before you start talking.
• Talk for all the time you are given. If you have one minute to do the task, use every second.
• Practise the useful language below so you can explain which part of the picture you are talking about.

Don’t:

• Panic if you don’t know the words for all the things in the picture. You don’t need to know all the words for everything in the picture if you know what to say when you don't know an exact word.  
• Get distracted and start talking about something else. Focus on the photo or picture.
• Panic if your mind goes blank. Take a deep breath, look at the picture and start again.

If you are asked to describe a photo or a picture in the exam, here is some language you can use:

What is in the picture?

In the picture I can see ...
There’s / There are ...
There isn’t a ... / There aren’t any ...

Say what is happening with the present continuous

The man is ...ing
The people are ...ing
It’s raining.

Where in the picture?

At the top/bottom of the picture ...
In the middle of the picture ...
On the left/right of the picture ...
next to
in front of
behind
near
on top of
under

If something isn’t clear

It looks like a ...
It might be a ...
He could be ...ing
Maybe it’s a ..
.

Describing pictures de Chelo Parra