Photons and nuclear structure

Beams of photons with energies ranging from a few hundred keV to a few tens of MeV have proven to be very usefull tools for studying a variety of nuclear structures and their properties. The peculiar features of photons allow for unique insights and precision. This contribution provides a collection of nuclear structure phenomena that are well accessible with photon beams and instructional examples for seminal experiments that have advanced nuclear structure research in the past using photons in the entrance channel. It is meant to complement the contents of other contributions highlighting the scientific and technological potential of the emerging field of Nuclear Photonics.