We report the existence of a single plane in the space of global photometric
parameters describing elliptical galaxies and the bulges of early type spiral
galaxies. The three parameters which define the plane are obtained by fitting
the Sersic form to the brightness distribution obtained from near-infrared K
band images. We find, from the range covered by their shape parameters, that
the elliptical galaxies form a more homogeneous population than the bulges.
Known correlations like the Kormendy relation are projections of the
photometric plane. The existence of the plane has interesting implications for
bulge formation models.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX including 5 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical
Journal Letter