This monograph gives for the first time a comprehensive overview of the photographic work of Bernhard Prinz. At its centre is the portrait, which in early groups of works he often juxtaposes with sculptural arrangements. He contrasts the mass medium of photography with metaphors and allegories, investigates forms of stylisation and uses the medium for a complex play of meanings. The moment of staging in his work points not only to method but refuses a single reality in favour of multi-layered interpretation.