No single element commands attention, but four subjects split the main focus. An abundance of objects and people contribute to an aura of exciting chaos. The photograph lacks perfect and equal symmetry of color; brilliant white and shades of Caucasian skin pervade the right side while the navy robe on the left creates a smaller negative space. Crisp colors and lines cast a jovial, light-hearted tone onto the scene. The quality, clarity, and colors of the photo indicate that it was taken recently. Without shadows or a source of light, it is difficult to determine the season or time of day of the occasion.

Bustling with a flurry of activity, the background is saturated by young people attending their graduation. A candy-apple SUV occupies a spot on the left in the background—is it cruising by, or parked? Affluent people must reside in this area, a seemingly metropolitan neighborhood.

The photographer, standing directly in front, cut off the tops of the heads of the two taller subjects. It is likely that he tried to take the picture from a greater distance, but the scene was too densely populated. In the foreground, three females huddle together while the male stands towards the outside, curling his fingers around the right shoulder of the girl in front of him. The teens clearly took time to arrange themselves so that each could be seen.

A striped tie peers out from underneath the boy’s navy garment, suggesting that he views his graduation as dignified and momentous. The midnight blue and pea-green shades of his tie differ slightly from the navy and mint of his robe and shirt. His earlobes protrude from under his shaggy mop of hair (his mother probably wishes he’d gotten a haircut for the occasion). The girls, however, appear to have invested time in blow-drying their hair and applying eyeliner and eyeshadow.

Intending to create a comical pose, all four teens open their mouths, though the other aspects of their facial expressions vary. Their gestures look calculated, their faces contrived. Except for the girl on the left, the subjects gaze purposely into the lens of the camera.

“I can’t believe he would say that” girl’s head occupies the center of the photo. Her chestnut hair covers three-quarters of her forehead and her left eyebrow. She holds a rose, a flower popular in the Northern hemisphere; a trademark of beauty as commonly used as Kleenex, but more expensive and prestigious. It pops and against a gleaming sea of white.

She comically cocks her mouth to the left, deviating from the rounder mouths of her friends. The boy’s mouth is nearest to being perfectly circular; he looks as though he forgot about a school assignment or important test. Meanwhile the girl on the top right positions her mouth in a more ovular shape that nearly mirrors the shape of the threshold of the building behind her. This girl, “I haven’t seen you in forever!” girl, involves her hand in her comical gesture, unknowingly creating juxtaposition. Her hand seems to germinate from the head in front of it.

“Mischievous rumor” girl flashes her entire row of top teeth. Their consistent alignment indicates the value she, her parents, and her culture place on perfection in beauty. The edges of her teeth parallel her white-tipped, manicured nails. Her bonnie-brown hair curls softly and loosely against her left shoulder, framing her pale but brilliant face and directing the eye downward to a lavender ribbon. What does it stand for?

The congruency among the teens’ expressions suggests their camaraderie. After all, this ceremony is the culmination of some quantity of time spent together, though that quantity is undisclosed by the photo.