The idea that the emerging global society is also the age of the 'pictorial turn' is one in which the use of visual historical sources (VHS) in the teaching and learning of History in English secondary schools is situated. Yet there has been little research conducted into how such sources are experienced by teachers and students in the classroom, and the ways these are mediated by political, cultural and social forces. This article considers how students engage with VHS and some of the implications this has for teacher pedagogy. It is based on a qualitative study conducted with secondary (aged 11-18) school students, teachers and gallery educators that draws on a form of constructivist grounded theory. It uses thematic analysis, as well as a variety of theoretical positions, to help conceptualise the perceptions described and observed in the research. The findings illustrate how descriptions that emerge around how students engage with VHS can be seen to coalesce around a number of axes, based on binary positions such as "immediate-distant" and "like text--not like text," which are used to describe experiences that may at times seem paradoxical, and which in turn have pedagogical implications for teachers.