How to Interpret Photographs and Land Use in IGCSE Geography Paper 2 (0460)

What if your students could look at a photo and instantly know what the exam wants from them?
What if they had a clear, repeatable strategy for turning everyday images into high-mark answers?

Photo interpretation is one of the most accessible yet underused opportunities in IGCSE Geography Paper 2. But too often, students give vague descriptions or overlook critical clues because they haven’t been taught how to “read” an image like a geographer YET!

This post is designed to fix that — Feel free to pass it along to your students in case it helps with their last-minute prep!

We’ll walk through:

• A simple but powerful way to read any landscape photo
  
• The most common land uses and how to spot them quickly
  
• How to be creative with your answers — but always back them up with evidence
  
• And if you’re just here for a quick strategy, skip to the end for the FARM-E mnemonic — a 5-step method to keep in your back pocket for exam day
  

Let’s get into it.

📸 Start With: Reading the Photo Like a Geographer

Train your eyes to scan in layers:

• Foreground – what’s up close?
  
• Midground – what’s happening in the middle?
  
• Background – mountains? clouds? urban areas?
  

This approach helps you find hidden clues that many students miss.

🧠 Know the Common Land Uses

Some classic, always-useful categories:

• 🏘️ Residential (houses, flats, apartments)
  
• 🏭 Industrial (factories, warehouses)
  
• 🛍️ Commercial (shops, malls)
  
• 🌽 Agricultural (fields, plantations)
  
• 🏞️ Recreational (parks, green spaces)
  
• 🚜 Transportation (roads, railways, airports)
  
• 🏨 Tourism (hotels, campsites, beaches)
  

💡 Use “Creative Interpretation” — With Evidence

You can use reasonable assumptions if you point to something visible in the photo. For example:

• A road might suggest:
  
  • 🚲 Cycling tourism
    
  • 🚚 Transporting goods (e.g. fruit to market)
    
  • 🏭 Industrial access
    
  • 🧑‍🌾 Farming equipment or rural development
    
  • 🏨 Tourist access to natural features
    
• A river could suggest:
  
  • 💧 Access to water for agriculture
    
  • 🚤 Recreational activities (kayaking)
    
  • 🛶 Transport or fishing economy
    
  • 🌊 Flood risk or irrigation potential
    
• Trees in rows might mean:
  
  • 🍊 Fruit farming (export potential)
    
  • 🌳 Reforestation projects
    
  • 🛖 Shade for livestock or rural settlement
    

🎯 Key point: It’s okay to be creative — just back it up with evidence from the photo.

✅ Final Tips

• Look for patterns, shadows, and movement in the photo.
  
• Think: what does this image show about how the land is being used?
  
• Use precise vocabulary and stay linked to the question.
  

🧠 BONUS: Use the FARM-E Strategy to Remember the Steps

When revising or under exam pressure, use this simple mnemonic to guide your thinking:

🔤 FARM-E

• F – Foreground / Midground / Background
  
• A – Analyse Land Uses
  
• R – Reason with Evidence
  
• M – Match to the Question
  
• E – Examine Patterns and Extras
  

It’s not a replacement for good geographical thinking — but it’s a great tool to structure your answers and avoid missing key details.

🧪 Helpful Practice Activities

Want to apply these skills with real photo-based activities?

Check out this excellent resource full of interactive exercises and visual interpretation tasks for students:

🔗 Photo Interpretation Activities – Rwanda eLearning Platform

These tasks are ideal for classroom use or individual practice and support many of the strategies shared in this guide.