Hi, Teacher Luke here 👨‍🏫

After last week's DET Ready VIP lesson, I noticed some students need to improve their vocabulary for describing photos.

So, here are 5 words and phrases to help you describe almost any photo on the Duolingo English Test effectively and boost your production score! 👇

1. In the background

When describing what’s behind the main subject in a photo, use "in the background"—like this, "This picture shows a cyclist with stunning mountains in the background."

2. In the foreground

To highlight what’s closest in the photo, say "in the foreground".

"An empty wheelchair is positioned in the foreground of the photo, while three people are talking in the background."

3. Close-up

Use "close-up" to talk about photos taken from very close, showing lots of detail. Like this,"This is a close-up photo of a person making pottery."

4. Features

If you want to talk about the key parts of a picture, use the verb "feature". Like this example—"This image features tall buildings and vibrant lights."

5. Capture

And finally, "capture". "This image captures a small dog playing with its owner." "Capture" a brilliant word for photos that represent a key moment.

Do you want to learn more words like these to describe a photo? Then, join me on DET Ready VIP this week, as I'll be teaching 30 advanced words and phrases for different types of photos on the DET, and a system for speaking longer in my 'Describe a Photo Like a Pro' series!

You can become a member here 👉 https://vip.detready.com/

By the way, if you joined last week's VIP lesson, please submit your homework on the VIP platform for feedback (The PDF I used is available there). 😀

🗓️ October's VIP Schedule: "Describe a Photo Like a Pro" Series

Here’s the timetable for this series

Friday 17th: Super Strategy (Recording + PDFs available)

Master the 1-Minute Photo Question: Write 3 Sentences with Ease

Tuesday 22nd: Speak Like a Pro

Easily speak about any photo for the whole 90 seconds (very important)

Thursday 24th: Vocabulary Power-Up

Learn top words and phrases to describe any photo perfectly!

Tuesday 29th: Big Mistakes

Spot and fix common errors to boost your score

Thursday 31st: Practice, Answers & Feedback

Real-time practice and feedback to perfect your photo descriptions

Plus, when you become a VIP member, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Production Score Program, packed with:

📚 Ultimate Production Score Program:

Course 1: Write About the Topic ✍️

Course 2: Describe a Photo 🏞

Course 3: The Speaking Questions 🗣

Bonus Content:

• Advanced Essay Bank!
• All My YouTube Videos with PDFs!
• Full Tests (Video & PDF)!

Ready to boost your DET score? Let’s work together to get you there.

Click here to join 👉 vip.detready.com

👨‍🏫 Teacher Luke