Kitty Empire of The Observer called ``Photograph'' a ``swelling ballad'', and suggested that Sheeran's writing was ``particularly calculated''. In his review for MusicOMH, John Murphy also felt that ``Photograph'' was ``calculated and a bit cynical, almost as if it's been written specifically as a soundtrack to a particularly emotional scene in a US television series''. On her analysis of the lyrical content of the album, Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club expressed that Sheeran's ``self-awareness extends to the rest'' of the album by tackling homesickness in ``Photograph'', for instance.
Annie Zaleski
Sheeran