ABSTRACT
Why study theory? As will become clear, theory informs practice. Essentially there are two choices. You can disregard theoretical debates, taking no account of ways in which images become meaningful, thereby limiting critical
understanding and, if you are a photographer, restricting the depth of under - standing supporting your own work. The alternative is to engage consciously with questions of photographic meaning in order to develop critical percep - tions which can be brought to bear upon photographic practices, historically and now, or upon your own photography.
