Wells, L., 1996.

'Photography: A Critical Introduction' 4th ed.

Photography: A Critical Introduction was the first introductory textbook to examine key debates in photographic theory and place them in their social and political contexts, and is now established as one of the leading textbooks in its field. Written especially for students in further and higher education and for introductory college courses, this fully revised edition provides a coherent introduction to the nature of photographic seeing.

This revised and updated fourth edition includes:

Key concepts, biographies of major thinkers, seminal references
A full glossary of terms, comprehensive bibliography and new chapter abstracts
Updated resource information, including guides to public archives and useful websites

Individual chapters cover:

Key debates in photographic theory and history
Documentary photography and photojournalism
Personal and popular photography
Photography and commodity culture
Photography and the human body
Photography as art
Photography in the age of electronic imaging

This lavishly illustrated fourth edition includes over one hundred photographs and images, of huge diversity, in full colour throughout, featuring work from Bill Brandt, Susan Derges, Rineke Dijkstra, Lee Friedlander, Fran Herbello, Hannah Höch, Karen Knorr, Dorothea Lange, Chrystal Lebas, Lee Miller, Martin Parr, Ingrid Pollard, Jacob Riis, Alexander Rodchenko, Andres Serrano and Jeff Wall.