A name index is useful when you already know part of a photographer’s credit. Check the spelling, initials and order of the name, especially when a name can appear in more than one transliteration.
Use more than the name alone
Match a credit to the photographs or project you intend to study. A similar name does not establish that two portfolios belong to the same person. A project title, a byline attached to an image or the photographer’s own authorship statement can help distinguish the work.
Once you have identified a selection, read it as a whole before evaluating a single favourite frame. Note how the sequence changes viewpoint, colour and subject distance.