Photography Analysis- Afghan Girl

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A young girl, around or reaching her teenage years, gives a piercing stare directly into the camera, her light green eyes boring into ours. Steve McCurry's powerful capture of this young girl's simple stare has become an iconic impact around the world. Her bright opened eyes, clear complexion and smooth and tight skin are aspects of her face that make her look youthful. I would assume she would be around her teenage years. The space behind her is green. It appears to be a wooden painted green wall. The red cloth is loosely draped over her head, the fabric worn down at edges with torn in holes, partially covers her hair and the most of her body. She is wearing green clothing underneath the red cloth, the same exact shade of green as the background. Around her mouth, below her nose, there are two streaks of dark smudges on her face which is most likely mud. She does not seem very well dressed or cleaned. Though not moving many of her facial muscles, her face is full of expressions. Her emotions are told through her eyes, the strongest element of this picture. Her eyes have looks of hopelessness, nervousness, fear, paranoia, as well as irritation. The stare does not look friendly; it is a rather cold and insecure stare. Light colored objects stand out very effectively against darker backgrounds, the bordering darkness giving the emphasis on the lighter objects. Her light green irises truly stand out against her tan skin, which also seems smudged with dirt, along with her dark and defined eye lashes and eyebrows. The subject being right in the middle of the frame creates a very balanced picture. The colors of this image are very unified. Her blue eyes, reddish-brown cloth, wispy brown hair and green background are very natural colors that can easily be found in nature. The center of interest and the dominant form is the young girl very apparently. As for the

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