i think a good rule of thumb for writing image descriptions is: go look at something else real quick, then come back and figure out what your brain says in a sudden burst of visual processing when you look at the image. then write that down. this is easier for people who think in words but it is translatable even with people who don’t
the more faithful you can get to that visual impression, the more faithful the image description will be, because you’re more likely to include stuff like tone that your brain picks up on from the image as a whole, but isn’t necessarily an identifiable feature of the image
it actually does matter if the painting is nostalgic, or the gif seems frantic! and it will help to say so, instead of assuming or hoping that the person using the id can or will put the pieces together.
image descriptions can be subjective. it is okay! usually when they are subjective they get across more information and more meaningful information.
I was debating pre- and post- smartphone existentialism with an older gentleman today and he stopped part way through and said “Why are you a security guard? Why aren’t you teaching this at some college somewhere?” And I didn’t know what to say so I went with “Well I used to make art but nobody pays an artist”
I want to invoke thought and wonder and introspection and encourage the passions of every soul I meet forever and ever and dig until I find the glorious potential for creation and experience and joy in every single one but unfortunately I must pay rent and so I stand, a meat shield, an NPC with unlockable dialogue
