The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Photography

by Nathalie Herschdorfer (Editor)

The Thames Hudson Dictionary of Photography is a landmark publication that encompasses the history, art, and science of photography in a single volume. At a time when information is instantly accessible on the Internet but is often unreliable or uncited, this ambitious project both reasserts the veracity, reliability, and accuracy of scholarly research in reference publishing and offers an immersive, usable, beautifully designed reading experience.


Compiled under the editorial guidance of curator, writer, and art historian Nathalie Herschdorfer, and in consultation with an international panel of 150 experts, this volume is based on entirely new scholarship by seventy-seven researchers from sixteen countries. Over 1,200 concise yet fully detailed entries describe all aspects of the subject, including photographers, images, agencies, genres, movements, exhibitions, publications, collectors, techniques, and processes. Entries from Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, and amateur photographers to Emile Zola, Piet Zwart, and the zoom lens are enriched by 300 images showing key works, artist portraits, exhibitions, installations, and publications.

438 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

About the author

Nathalie Herschdorfer is a Swiss author and curator specializing in photography. She is the director of the Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle in Switzerland and a curator with the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography (FEP). She has authored several books on photography, including Afterwards, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Photography, Coming into Fashion, and reGeneration, all published by Thames & Hudson. Her work focuses on contemporary photography and its evolving role in visual culture.