This article elaborates on Barlow's distinction between images before the e
ye (pictures) and images behind the eye (mental images). The key focus of t
his article is on representational competence with respect to the common pr
operties of pictures and, in particular, photographs. Despite a number of t
heoretical proposals to account for aspects of photographic understanding,
no comprehensive or integrated theory at present claims any consensus. By t
he nature and variety of photographic practices, it is unlikely that there
soon will be.