My Ten Favorite Photography Quotes
A photo may be worth a thousand words, as it has often been said, but sometimes just a few words or sentences can help explain a thousand or more photographs. And while thousands of illuminating remarks may have been written or uttered about photography, here are my ten favorite photography quotes, plus a couple of bonus quotes to make it an even dozen (the list keeps growing).
“Photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them” – Elliot Erwin
“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer – and often the supreme disappointment ” – Ansel Adams
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera” – Dorothea Lange
“What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time” – John Berger
“With photography, I always think that it’s not good enough” – Lynsey Addario
“Photography to the amateur is recreation, to the professional it is work, and hard work too, no matter how pleasurable it may be” – Edward Weston
“I think photographers are too polite. There is not enough anger in photography” – Duane Michals
“Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world” – Arnold Newman
“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer” – Ansel Adams
“My best photographs always had a strong personal vision. If they didn’t communicate a vision or an emotion, they failed” – Galen Rowell
And lastly…
“You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky
If you have a favorite photography quote of your own, please share it with us in the comments section.
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away – Paul Simon
“Photography always amazes me, with an astonishment that lasts and is renewed, inexhaustibly.”
(Roland Barthes)
“Photography is one of the few things that has power over time: it paralyzes it.”
(Tumblr)
“Photography is born first in the mind, then in the eye, and only later, well afterwards, do we exteriorize it so others can share a little of us!”
(Warllem Silva)
“The only difference between a poet and a photographer is the
They write, one with pen and paper and the other
With camera and light.”
(Arthur Manson)
“The camera makes no difference. They all record what you see. But you need to See. ”
(Ernst Haas)
“Photographier , c’est mettre dans la même ligne de mire, la tête, l’œil et le cœur ” Henri Cartier-Bresson
“Be original. Be real. Do it only for love, not for the sake of ego or money.”- Richard Bernabe
That’s the best quote ever !! Do it because you love it !! Feel it !!
“You don’t take a photograph. You ask quietly to borrow it.” ~ Unknown
It isn’t a famous quote – it is my thought that if I keep pursuing those elusive photos, I’ll need a flashing sign on my car “Emergency stop for photo ops”!
How about the age-old “a picture is worth 1000 words”.
It’s what you don’t show that makes one a great photographer.
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” – Ansel Adams
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman
“I never tried to revolutionise photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it.” – David Bailey
“You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky
While technically it is not a photography quote, the philosophy fits.
“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
~ Ansel Adams ~
“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham
“Beauty can be seen in all things; seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” – Matt Hardy
“Photography is made for the ‘other’… a symbiosis.”
~Isadora~
“Photography is the ultimate expression of one’s feelings and soul in images captured and created “(my own). I like many quotes in photography and you mentioned above. My favorite is from Burk Uzzle ” Photography is a Love Affair with Life”. Thank you for all these awesome posts. I am hoping I can make it to one of your Workshops and Safari’s one of these days
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving.
I love the Elliot Erwin Quote, it’s so on point.
Great quotes you picked, thanks a lot! By the way – your blog is great!
Primary raw materials – light and time. So true!
“Your first 10.000 shoots are the worst.” Cartier-Bresson
“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event” For me this is the best most inspiring quote from Cartier Breson, I agree with this idea that we capture moments that happen in a fraction of second and make them last forever.