Conceptual Photography
Photography in which the governing idea precedes and directs the image, rather than the image being discovered.
In depth
The photograph functions as the execution of a proposition, which is why conceptual work is often serial, systematic and accompanied by text. It descends from 1960s conceptual art, where the idea was held to be the work and the object merely its record — a position that put photography at the centre of contemporary art practice.
Examples in practice
Photographing every petrol station along one road, in identical light and framing, executes a stated rule.