Parr's aesthetic is close-up, through use of a macro lens, and employing saturated colour, a result of either the type of film and/or use of a ring flash. This allows him to put his subjects "under the microscope" in their own environment, giving them space to expose their lives and values in ways that often involve inadvertent humour. His technique, as seen in his book "Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation's Tastes" (1992), has been said to leave viewers with ambiguous emotional reactions, unsure whether to laugh or cry.