INTRODUCTION

This book examines four elements specifi c to every image created

through the action of light. These elements form what I call the

grammar of photographic language, since they comprise the

technical foundation, as well as dictate the visual outcome, of all

photographic images. These elements of photography’s grammatical

structure must be expertly addressed by photographers, regardless

of media choice and the end use of the images; any practice of

photography that does not consciously address the grammatical

elements of photographic language fails to mine its potential.