Picture Description

HOW TO DESCRIBE A PICTURE

POSITION LANGUAGE

 Remember you should include information about...

• The location, what the place or scenery is like.
• What the people are doing; talk about the people's appearance, emotional states, clothes and relationships.
• Speculate about the scene to add further details to your description (what has happened? what is the weather like? what do you think will happen next?)

USEFUL LANGUAGE

• This picture shows...
• I can´t quite make it out but perhaps...
• They seem to be + ing (holding a party)
• They might be + ing (celebrating something)
• It might depict a scene of...
• I guess it is...
• It looks as if/though + sentence (it was going to rain)
• He looks + adjective/adverb/age (exhausted)
• He looks like + noun/pronoun (his father)
• I don't know the word for it but its a sort of.../like a.../used to

Physical Description

Hair

He is going bald /bɔːld/. His hair is receding. He has got a receding hairline.
She wears her hair in a ponytail. She has got a ponytail.
He has got a beard/a moustache/ a goatee/some stubble/ dreadlocks/ sideburns
He has got cropped hair
He has got a crew cut
She wears her hair in a plait /plæt/ /a braid /breɪd// a French plait/a French braid/pigtails/ a bun/cornrows
She has got a plait/braid/ a French plait/a French braid/pigtails/ a bun/cornrows
She has got layered/ permed hair. Her hair is permed/layered
She wears her hair in a bob.
She has got ginger hair (ginger: a light brownish-orange colour)
She has got curly/ straight/ wavy/ thick/ thin /dyed hair
He has got greasy, unkempt hair. (Unkempt: /ˌʌnˈkempt/ not well cared for; not neat or tidy)
She has got a fringe
She has highlights in her hair

Height and Weight

He is rather tall/ fairly short/medium height.
He is quite plump/stout/ slim/skinny/bony/wiry/strong/hefty
Plump: having a soft, round body; slightly fat. E.g. a short, plump woman. A plump face.
Stout: /staʊt/  rather fat, plump.
Bony: /ˈbəʊni/ very thin so that the bones can be seen under the skin. E.g. a bony hand. a tall bony man.
Wiry: /ˈwaɪəri/ thin but strong. Sinewy /ˈsɪnjuːi/ E.g. a wiry little man.
Hefty: big and heavy. E.g. Her brothers were both hefty men in their forties.
  
Clothes

He is wearing a pair of polka-dot pyjamas
He is wearing a striped /straɪpt// check(ed) shirt
He is wearing a pinstriped suit/ a business suit/ a two-piece suit/a three-piece suit (with waistcoat/vest)
Pinstriped:

He is wearing a jogging suit/ tracksuit/ a sweatsuit/ a sweatshirt/ sweatpants
He is wearing a baggy/loose/tight/ a tight-fitting T-shirt
She is wearing high-heeled shoes/ flat shoes/ high heels

 

He is wearing trainers/ wellingtons/ lace-ups/ loafers/ slippers/ flip-flops/cowboy boots
He looks a little scruffy. He is wearing a scruffy pair of jeans.
Scruffy: /ˈskrʌfi/ dirty or untidy. Shabby.
She is wearing shabby old jeans and a T-shirt.
A wrinkled suit. The suit has wrinkles.
Unkempt: not well cared for; not neat or tidy
He looked tired and dishevelled /dɪˈʃevld/ (very untidy)
She is wearing a sober /ˈsəʊbə(r)//bright dress
A bleached/stonewashed pair of jeans.
Bleach: to become white or pale.
Stonewashed: washed in a special way so that the cloth loses some colour and looks older

He is wearing a polo neck/turtleneck/ V-neck/ crew neck sweater
A polo shirt
He is wearing tapering/ tapered/flared jeans
Taper: /ˈteɪpə(r)/ to become gradually narrower
Flared: /fleəd/ wider at the bottom 
Swimsuit (also swimming costume /bathing suit) (worn by women)
Trunks/ swimming trunks (worn by men)
A short-sleeved shirt/ a long-sleeved shirt
a dress with short / long sleeves. He rolled up his sleeves
To judge from the clothes he is wearing…