Abstract: While Romanticism had the closest relationship with the medium of painting, Realism is tied to photography. The factors that separated these two approaches were similar to the ones distinguishing photography from painting, except that photography, with its language unfamiliar to artists of the time, struggled to position itself within the realm of fine arts. The concept of the *image* as a form of reality *imitation* was the most prominent commonality between the literature of Realism and photographs. However, there is no consensus on the meaning of reality and the implications of focusing on it from the perspective of these two artistic approaches. This article seeks to explore some of the mutual influences between these two art forms in the cultural and social context of the Victorian era. Topics covered include the meaning of the image for writers and photographers, the transformation that the abundance of images created in people's perception of *reality*, the relationship between image and word, and the tendency toward object over subject. Finally, the works of four Victorian photographers are examined as examples of these ideas. Keywords: Victorian era, Realism, photography, literature Sources: - Armstrong, Nancy. Fiction in the age of Photography: The legacy of British Realism, 1999, Harvard University Press - Brunet, Francois. Photography and Literature, 2009, Reaktion Books - Barthes, Roland. Image, Music, Text. Translated by Stephan Heath . 1977, Fontana Press - Cronin, Richard. Chapman, Alison. H. Harrison, Antony. A companion to Victorian Poetry 2002, Blackwell Publishers - Clements, Elicia and J. Higgins, Lesley. Victorian Aesthetic Conditions, 2010, Palgrave Macmillan- Hirsch, Robert. Seizing th e Light, 2017, Routledge - Shea ,Victor , Whitla, William. Victorian Literature: An Anthology, 2015, John Wiley & Sons - Lawrence Coleman, David. Pleasant Fiction: Henry Peach Robinson’s Composition Photography, 2005, University of Texas