ABSTRACT
I will pursue this line of argument by making a distinction between the terms image on the one hand, and depiction or picture on the other. The word image is often used interchangeably with other terms to mean ‘what the picture shows’, which is consistent with a copy theory of perception.1 The use of the term to cover two separate entities – what is ‘in the photo’ and what is ‘inside the viewer’s head’ – can only lead to confusion when trying to understand what picturing involves (Mitchell, 1984). If one speaks to people about photographs that they have made, or even about ones they would like to have made, it soon becomes clear that the print is often an approximation to what they wanted to show but could not (Hodgetts et al., 2007). Or else the photograph can be said to capture the person exactly, so that the (mental) image one has of them somehow coheres with the (physical) depiction on the print. These two possibilities, along with others, are defined within a potential space of viewing that enables a consideration of making, showing and explaining using visual methods.
