Famous Inspirational Photography Quotes From Top Photographers

Famous Inspirational Quotes From Top Photographers

Photography is not just taking photos, skills, and talents, it much more. Whatever you are a pro or novice inspirational photography quotes will motivate you to dig deep.

Here, in this collection of famous quotes, you will find the best quotations from expert photographers. These photography quotes are motivational, impersonal, and relevant.

These quotations are from the world’s best photographers in every niche. You will find the best quotes from the pioneers of the product, still life, travel, war, abstract, and natural photography. Surely, it will inspire, provide a better understanding, and apprise thoughts.

Inspirational Photography Quotes By the Best Photographers

Quotation and direct phrases are speech or text that someone has said or written. Hereafter, you will find the famous inspirational saying about photography, career, the incites, and short biography of 50+ renowned photographers from 1900-2021.

The photography profession is fun. Here in this quotation list includes famous saying about photography inspiration, photo shooting, camera, lighting, and others. Moreover, there are saying about health and safety issues in photography.

Lets start …

Dorothea Lange Quotes

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

Dorothea Lange (May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965), American documentary photographer and photojournalist.
Dorothea Lange | Famous Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Dorothea Lange was born in America in early 1895. She was well known for her documentary photography and photojournalist. Although her best work will always be her Depression Era work which she did for (FSA) Farm Security Administration.

Not only that Lange’s great work developed the culture for documentary photography and also cultivated the denouement for once vast depression. However, in the last stages of her life, she felt ill. Later when she was in her early 70s she passed away on 11 October 1965 in San Francisco. 

This is a very famous quote by Dorothea Lange with the quote she also added that “Spending more than a few seconds looking at something before you press the shutter will, over time, improve your eye for seeing, feeling and learning how to create a photograph rather than simply taking one.”

This surely explains that it is not only necessary to take great pictures or just simply keep clicking pictures, what it matters is to click a meaningful picture.

It also teaches us that the term photography is not something we can use while we are clicking random photos without any meaning.

Until that one photo which has meaning and can move you from inside and that photograph is far beyond just an image that has a meaning, a lesson to learn which is something creative and not an ordinary piece or basic. That actually should be best known as a photograph. 

Other Photography Quotes by Dorothea Lange:

“Life, for people, begins to crumble on the edges; they don’t realize it.”

Dorothea Lange

“You know there are moments such as these when time stands still…”

Dorothea Lange

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

Dorothea Lange

“It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.”

Dorothea Lange

Henri Cartier Bresson Inspirational Photography Quotes

“In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv.”

Henri Cartier Bresson (22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004), candid photographer, pioneered street photography.
Henri Cartier Bresson | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Henri Cartier Bresson was born in France in the year 1908 on August 22nd. He is eminent for his masterpieces in humanitarian photography, let alone the term candid photography being discovered by Henri. Bresson instigated the genre of Street photography which he displayed to his audience as a form of pivotal actions.

Not only that he was also a part of World war II. He was a French Army Corporal who was serving in the Film and Photo sector. Cartier-Bresson died in Céreste, France on August 3, 2004.

By using the term ‘Leitmotiv’ Bresson wanted to express the value a small detail can give a photograph and make it look special and innovative.

Furthermore, that small subject that has meaning can make a simple photograph pop compared to a photograph with no valuable subject to focus on, in Bresson’s term a basic with a detailed subject is nothing compared to a small photo which has detailed work to make it innovative.

Other Quotes by Henri Cartier Bresson:

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”

Henri Cartier Bresson

“To photograph: it is to put on the same line of sight the head, the eye and the heart.”

 Henri Cartier-Bresson

“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept”

Henri Cartier-Bresson

“If there is one point, it’s humanity, it’s life, the richness of life. The thing is simply to be sensitive.”

 Henri Cartier-Bresson

“For me, photography is to place head and heart and eye along the same line of sight. It’s a way of life.”

 Henri Cartier–Bresson

“Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera.”


 Henri Cartier-Bresson

Steve‌ ‌McCurry‌ Quotes for Photographers‌

“The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time.”

Steve‌ ‌McCurry (April 23, 1950-), Known for evocative color photography.
Steve‌ ‌McCurry | Photography Quotes

He was born in America in the year 1950 on April 23rd.McCurry is known for his freelancing and photojournalistic photography. One of his superlative works among his other masterpieces that have captivated viewers the most is the Afghanistan girl with piercing eyes.

Which has been shown on the covers of National Geographic a quite few times. He also had devoted various of his work clicking photographs for projects related to National Geographic.

These are some really beautiful and moving words incorporated together and made this quote.

Inspirational Quotes by Steve McCurry:

The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time.

Steve McCurry

A picture can express a universal humanism, or simply reveal a delicate and poignant truth by exposing a slice of life that might otherwise pass unnoticed.

Steve McCurry

We photographers say that we “take” a picture, and in a certain sense, that is true. We take something from people’s lives, but in doing so we tell their story.

Steve McCurry

“I strive for individual pictures that will burn in people’s memories. “

Steve McCurry

Richard Avedon – Famous Photography Quotes

“Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me. My concern is… the human predicament; only what I consider the human predicament may simply be my own.”

Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004), American fashion and portrait photographer.

Richard was an American Photographer, who was born in the year 1923 on May the 15th. Avedon was known for his portrait and his fashion photography.

Let alone Avedon devoted his work to theater and dance photography. Let alone also worked for Vogue, Harper’s bazaar, he was specialized in capturing moments from the still pictures of the fashion shows.

Besides working on these huge platforms he also left his remarkable identification in fashion, style, and portrait photography which defines America’s norms and style and culture in front of the world said to “The New York Times”.

Later in the year 2004 on March 13, Richard passed away while he was working on this project called the Democracy which was based on American Election in 2004.

Inspirational Quotes by Richard Avedon:

“I believe that you’ve got to love your work so much that it is all you want to do.”

Richard Avedon

“Camera lies all the time. It’s all it does is a lie, because when you choose this moment instead of this moment, when you… the moment you’ve made a choice, you’re lying about something larger. ‘Lying’ is an ugly word. I don’t mean lying. But any artist picks and chooses what they want to paint or write about or say. Photographers are the same.”

Richard Avedon

“My photographs don’t go below the surface. They don’t go below anything. They’re readings of the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues.” 

Richard Avedon

Annie Leibovitz – Quotes About Photograph

“When I say I want to photograph someone, what it really means is that I’d like to know them. Anyone, I know I photograph.”

Annie Leibovitz

Anna-Lou later was widely recognized as “Annie” Leibovitz. Was born on the 2nd of October. And was born in America. The ultimate American photographer who was widely renowned for her engaging portrait photographs. Especially clicking celebrities’ shots in their confidential posture.

Her photography, which still is the most raving and on-demand photo is the photo she clicked of John Lennon and Yoko Ono which was just clicked only five hours before Lennon died. And has been the most popular photo since then for Rolling Stone Magazine ever since.

Besides her greatest works she has also been recognized as a ‘Living legend’ by the library of Congress and not only that she was also the very first woman who had her featured exhibition at Washington National Portrait Gallery.

This quote resembles the meaning that when she clicked a photo of someone she likes to know that person more so that she can come up with better expressions and make the photo look more related to the person than just an ordinary photo.

Some Other Quotes

“One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time.”

Annie Leibovitz

“My early childhood equipped me really well for my portrait work: The quick encounter, where you are not going to know the subject for very long. These days I am much more comfortable with the fifteen minute relationship, than I am with a life long relationship.”

Annie Leibovitz

“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”

Annie Leibovitz

Robert Capa – Famous Saying

If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.

Robert Capa (October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954), war photographer and photojournalist
Robert Capa | Famous Inspirational Photography Quotes

Robert Capa was a Hungarian- American photographer whose main subject was to click war images, photojournalist as well as spouse and also the professional companion of photographer Gerda Taro.

He covered some of the greatest works in history as an adventure photographer. He also participated in a lot of works for World War II. On 25 May 1954, while passing through a dangerous area which was already under fire, that is when Capa decided to leave his vehicle behind and go up the road and take the photograph in advance. CAPA was killed when he stepped on a landmine near the road.

This is a great quote by Robert Capa, which clearly shows his enthusiasm and his energy towards his passion for photography. He actually devoted his entire life to photography. Not only that he was later killed on the road while attempting to take a photo.

Some more quotes:

“This war is like an actress who is getting old. It is less and less photogenic and more and more dangerous.”

Robert Capa

“It’s not always easy to stand aside and be unable to do anything except record the sufferings around one.”

Robert Capa

“In a war, you must hate somebody or love somebody; you must have a position or you cannot stand what goes on.”

Robert Capa

Edward Weston – Inspirational Quotes about Camera

“The camera sees more than the eye, so why not make use of it?”

Edward Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958), masters of 20th century modern  photography.
Edward Weston | Photography Quotes

Edward Henry Weston was an American photographer who was born in 1886 on March 24. Also, he has been one of the very ingenious artists of the 20th century.

He worked on various fields starting from still lives, landscapes, nudes, portraits, and even genre scenes, and even whimsical parodies. Later he died in the year of 1958 January 1st.

Some more quotes:

“My own eyes are no more than scouts on a preliminary search, for the camera’s eye may entirely change my idea.”

Edward Weston

“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 see no reason for recording the obvious.”

Edward Weston

Robert Frank Sayings about Photography

“Words are more thoughts; the photographed images always end up having a romantic gloss about it- no matter how I try to avoid it.”

Robert Frank
Robert Frank | Inspirational Photography Quotes

Robert Frank was a Swiss photographer. Besides photography, he was also a documentary filmmaker. who became an American binational.

His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider’s view of American society.

Critic Sean O’Hagan, writing in The Guardian in 2014. He published his photographic books besides his interest in video and film. Frank died on September 9, 2019, at his home in Nova Scotia.

More inspirational quotes by Robert Frank:

“It is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph.”

Robert Frank

“I always say that I don’t want to be sentimental, that the photographs shouldn’t be sentimental, and yet, I am conscious of my sentimentality.”

Robert Frank

“Above all, life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference.”

Robert Frank

Diane Arbus Saying

“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”

Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus | Famous Photography Quotes

Diane Arbus was an American photographer who worked for normalized marginalized groups and focused on normal people and represented the common American in general. She was born in the year 1923 March 04, and back at that time she used to work for a very wide range of photography including LGBTQ at that time for a female working for LGBTQ or supporting the pride community was a lot.

Besides that most of her other subjects were very unique compared to a photographer at that time working or supporting these groups. And besides that, she also supported these communities including the strippers, carnival performers, nudists, dwarves, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families.

She got recognition from Harper’s Bazaar, London’s Sunday Times Magazine, and Artforum. In the year 1971, she was facing an excessive level of depression, and later on, on the 26th of July Arbus committed suicide at the age of 48.

This is a very famous quote by Diane Arbus, this quote is so deep and tells a lot of stories about her and the secret she beheld.

Some more quotes by Diane Arbus:

“One thing that struck me very early is that you don’t put into a photograph what’s going to come out. Or, vice versa, what comes out is not what you put in.”

Diane Arbus

“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.”

Diane Arbus

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.”

Diane Arbus

Gordon Parks Saying About Photograph

“I feel it is the heart, not the eye, that should determine the content of the photograph. What the eye sees is it’s own. What the heart can perceive is a very different matter.”

Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks | Famous Photography Quotes

Gordon was born in America in the year 1912, November the 30th. He was a film director, writer, musician and photographer. He was popularly known for his work related to poverty, civil rights, and also for African-Americans. Later he died in the year 2006 of March the 7th, in New York.

Some more inspirational quotes by Gordon Parks:

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.”

Gordon Parks

“At first I wasn’t sure that I had the talent, but I did know I had a fear of failure, and that fear compelled me to fight off anything that might abet it.”

Gordon Parks

“Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.”

Gordon Parks

Alfred Stieglitz Photography Quotes

“For that is the power of the camera: seize the familiar and give it new meanings, a special significance by the mark of a personality.”

Alfred Stieglitz(1864–1946)
Alfred Stieglitz | Modern Photography Quotes

Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer who promoted photography as a form of art. He dedicated his fifty-year career to forming photography as a form of modern art and so that the world accepts photography as so. He died on July 13th, 1968 in Manhattan.

Some more inspirational quotes by Alfred Stieglitz:

“The goal of art was the vital expression of self.”

Alfred Stieglitz

“I have a vision of life, and I try to find equivalents for it in the form of photographs.”

Alfred Stieglitz

“Photographers must learn not to be ashamed to have their photographs look like photographs.”

Alfred Stieglitz

Yousuf Karsh Saying

“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.”

Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002)
Yousuf Karsh | Famous Potrait Photography Quotes

Was an American-Canadian photographer. He was born on 23rd December 1908, in Turkey. He was an American Genocide survivor, Karsh later shifted to Canada as a refugee.

He was known for his portrait photographs of noble individuals. Karsh has been declared as one of the supreme photographers of the 20th century. Later he died on the 13th of July 2002 in Boston.

More inspirational quotes by Yousuf Karsh:

“Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.”

Yousuf Karsh

“The trouble with photographing beautiful women is that you never get into the dark room until after they’ve gone.”

Yousuf Karsh

Robert Doisneau Quotations

“If I knew how to take a good photograph, I’d do it every time.”

Robert Doisneau (1912–1994)
Robert Doisneau | Street Photography Quotes

Robert was born on the 14th of April 1912 he was a French Photographer. In the 1930s he made French street photographs so influencing. He was a titlist of humanist photography and colonizer for photojournalism. Later he died on the 1st of April 1944.

More quotes by Robert Doisneau:

“If you take photos, don’t speak, don’t write, don’t analyze yourself, and don’t answer any questions.”

Robert Doisneau

“Photography is very subjective. Photography is not a document on which a report can be made. It is a subjective document. Photography is a false witness, a lie.”

Robert Doisneau

Man Ray Photography Quotes

“I believe in the relation between photography and music, And that’s my inspiration.”

Man Ray(1890-1976)
Man Ray | Photography Quotes

Man Ray was an American photographer, who was born in 1890 on August 27th. He spent most of his time in Paris. He was well known for his specialism in Dada and surrealistic artworks. Unlike most of the other photographers, he mainly focused on informal subjects in terms of his photographs. Above all, he still used to consider himself a painter.

More quotes by Man Ray:

“A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.”

Man Ray

“I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.”

Man Ray

Imogen Cunningham

“I don’t think there’s any such thing as teaching people photography, other than influencing them a little. People have to be their own learners. They have to have a certain talent.”

Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham |  Photography Quotes

Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer who was born in the year 1883, April 12th. She was mainly known for her agricultural photography, nudes, and commercial landscapes.

She was a member of a group in California whose main subject was to target the interpretations of particular subjects. She died in 1976.

More quotes by Imogen Cunningham:

“The formula for doing a good job in photography is to think like a poet.”

Imogen Cunningham

“I never stopped photographing. There were a couple of years when I didn’t have a darkroom, but that didn’t stop me from photographing.”

Imogen Cunningham

Sebastião Salgado Quotes

“When you capture a story, it must be your story, your choice. You must have 100 percent identification with your story – patience with the subject that you shoot.”

Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado | Photography Quotes

Sebastiao was a Brazilian photographer who was born in the year of 1944 on February the 8th. His photographs mostly included social documentary and photojournalism.

He traveled over a hundred and twenty countries for his photography projects. He was a very well known artist throughout the world, very well known for his travel exhibitions.

Some more quotes by Sebastião Salgado:

Photography is deeply subjective. It is my way of seeing – my pictures are made with my political and ideological ideas.

Sebastião Salgado

“Photography is the language that gives people the opportunity to see what you saw.”

Sebastião Salgado

Walker Evans

“Whether he is an artist or not, the photographer is a joyous sensualist, for the simple reason that the eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts.”

Walker Evans
Walker Evans | Photography Quotes

Evans was an American photographer and photojournalist, he is best known for his Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression.

More quotes by Walker Evans:

“The secret of photography is, the camera takes on the character and personality of the handler.”

Walker Evans

“I say half-jokingly that photography is the most difficult of the arts. It does require a certain arrogance to see and to choose. I feel myself walking on a tightrope instead of on the ground.”

Walker Evans

Philippe Halsman Sayings

“The immortal photographers will be straightforward photographers, those who do not rely on tricks or special techniques.”

Philippe Halsman
Philippe Halsman | Inspirational Photography Quotes

Halsman was an American portrait photographer who was born in America in 1906, May the 2nd. And after that spent his life in Russia. He was mostly known for her portrait photographs. Later he died in New York City in the year 1979 on June 25th.

More quotes by Philippe Halsman:

“A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was.”

Philippe Halsman

“The idea was that the head of the photographer is more important than his camera.”

Philippe Halsman

W. Eugene Smith about Photos

“Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness.”

W. Eugene Smith
W. Eugene Smith | Famous Photography Quotes

Eugene Smith, in full William Eugene Smith, byname Gene Smith, born December 20, 1918, Wichita, Kansas, U.S., died October 15, 1978, Tucson, American photojournalist noted for his compelling photo-essays. Which were characterized by a strong sense of empathy and social conscience.

More quotes:

“I’ve never made any picture, good or bad, without paying for it in emotional turmoil.”

W. Eugene Smith

“An artist must be ruthlessly selfish.”

W. Eugene Smith

Irving Penn

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.”

Irving Penn
Irving Penn | Photography Quotes

Irving Penn was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still life.

His career started with Vogue Magazine and advertising photographs for his clients which include clients like Issey Miyake and Clinique.

More quotes by Irving Penn:

“I can get obsessed by anything if I look at it long enough. That’s the curse of being a photographer.”

Irving Penn

“I feed on art more than I ever do on photographs. I can admire photography, but I wouldn’t go to it out of hunger.”

Irving Penn

David Bailey

“Anybody can be a great photographer if they zoom in enough on what they love.”

David Bailey
David Bailey | Photography Quotes

David was born in the year 1939 on January 2nd. This English photographer is best known for his portrait photography.

More quotes by David Bailey:

“I never tried to revolutionize photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it.”

– David Bailey

“Anybody can be a great photographer if they zoom in enough on what they love.”

– David Bailey

Andreas Gursky

“I read a picture not for what’s really going on there, I read it more for what is going on in our world generally.”

Andreas Gursky
Andreas Gursky | Famous Photography Quotes

Gursky was born in the year 1955, January 15th he was a German photographer, who was also a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

He is popularly known for his architectural format photos, colorful landscapes.

More quotes by Andreas Gursky:

I am never interested in the individual, but in the human species and its environment.”

Andreas Gursky

“Since the photographic medium has been digitized, a fixed definition of the term photography has become impossible.”

Andreas Gursky

Margaret Bourke-White

“Work is something you can count on, a trusted, lifelong friend who never deserts you.”

Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Margaret was an American photographer, who was born in the year 1904, June 04 in New York. She was best known for being the very first female Western professional photographer.

Who was permitted to the Soviet Union, Life magazine’s first female photographer, and the first female war correspondent credentialed to work in combat zones during World War II.

Some other quotes of Margaret Bourke-White:

“Photography is a very subtle thing. You must let the camera take you by the hand, as it were, and lead you into your subject.”

Margaret Bourke-White

“If you want to photograph a man spinning, give some thought to why he spins. Understanding for a photographer is as important as the equipment he uses.”

Margaret Bourke-White

André Kertész

“The photographer’s art is a continuous discovery which requires patience and time.”

André Kertész
André Kertész | Photography Quotes

André Kertész was a Hungarian-born photographer. He was born on 1894, July 2nd. He was well known for his outstanding contributions and photo essays.

In the early years of his career, he used to struggle a lot due to his camera angles and styles. Later he died on 28 September 1985 in the USA.

More inspirational quotes by André Kertész:

“Photography is my only language.”

André Kertész

“The camera is my tool. Through it I give a reason to everything around me.”

André Kertész

David LaChapelle

“In the fashion world, I was always an outsider, but I made people look good, so I had a career.”

David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle | Photography Quotes

David LaChapelle is an American commercial photographer, who was born on the 11th of March 1963, he mostly focused on fine-art photography, music video director, and film director.

Besides that, he mainly was best known for his photography which subjected art history and sometimes devolved social messages.

“Success to me is being a good person, treating people well.”

David LaChapelle

“I believe in a visual language that should be as strong as the written word.”

David LaChapelle

Vivian Maier

“Photos become more valuable the older they are.”

Vivian Maier
Vivian Maier | Famous Photography Quotes

Vivian was an American photographer who was born in the year 1926 on February 1st. Her work got famous after her death.

She worked as a nanny besides that she carried on with her photography career. Later she died in 2009 on April 21st in the US.

More quotes:

“We have to make room for other people. It’s a wheel. You get on. You go to the end. And someone else has the same opportunity to go to the end. And so on. And somebody else takes their place.”

– Vivian Maier

Elliott Erwitt

“The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.”

Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt | Inspirational Photography Quotes

Elliott Erwitt was a French-born American photographer who was born in the year 1928 of July 26th.

He is known for his black and white candids, advertising, and documentary photography. Also, he has been a part of Magnum photos since 1953.

More inspirational quotes by Elliott Erwitt:

“Photography is pretty simple stuff. You just react to what you see, and take many, many pictures.”

Elliott Erwitt

“Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.”

Elliott Erwitt

Alfred Eisenstaedt

“I don’t like to work with assistants. I’m already one too many; the camera alone would be enough.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt
Alfred Eisenstaedt | Photography Quotes

Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. Who was born in the year 1898 on December the 6th?

His career began from German subjecting World War II. Later he started working on magazines after moving to America.

More quotes by Alfred Eisenstaedt:

“Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt

“The work I care about is terribly simple. I observe, I try to entertain, but above all, I want pictures that are emotional.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Mary Ellen Mark

“Photograph the world as it is. Nothing’s more interesting than reality.”

Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark | Famous Inspirational Photography Quotes

Ellen Mark was an American photojournalist, who was born on March 20, 1940, in Pennsylvania. Her great works on photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography.

Most importantly she focused on people who were out of the reach of mainstream people. Mostly disturbed or troubled people. She died in the year 2015 on the 25th of May.

More inspirational quotes by Mary Ellen Mark:

“It’s not when you press the shutter, but why you press the shutter.”

Mary Ellen Mark

“In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.”

Mary Ellen Mark

Robert Mapplethorpe

“To make pictures big is to make them more powerful.”

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe | Inspirational Photography Quotes

Robert was born in 1946 on November the 4th in American. This American photographer was best known for his black and white photographs.

His subjects mainly included floating subjects, portrait photographs of celebrities, nudes, and still life photographs. Later he died on March 9, 1989, at New England Deaconess Hospital.

Other quotes by Robert Mapplethorpe:

“I never liked photography. Not for the sake of photography. I like the object. I like the photographs when you hold them in your hand.”

Robert Mapplethorpe

“If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.”

Robert Mapplethorpe

Brassaï

“I’ve always felt that the formal structure of a photo, its composition, was just as important as the subject itself”

Brassaï
Brassaï | Famous Photography Quotes

Brassai was a Hungarian-French born in the year 1899 on September the 9th. He was a very talented artist besides photography he was a sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France.

He was a renowned Hungarian artist who made a huge field in Paris in the early time of World Wars. He died in the year 1984 on July the 8th.

Other quotes by Brassaï:

“Only powerfully conceived images have the ability to penetrate the memory, to stay there, in short, to become unforgettable.”

Brassaï

“To me photography must suggest, not insist or explain.”

Brassaï

Garry Winogrand

“Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges around some facts, you change those facts.”

Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand | Famous Photography Quotes

Garry Winogrand was a street portrait photographer, who was born in the US in 1928, January 14. His most photographs include life and social issues. Photography curator, historian, and critic John Szarkowski called Winogrand the central photographer of his generation.

Some other quotes by Garry Winogrand:

“The photo is a thing in itself. And that’s what still photography is all about.”

Garry Winogrand

“The photograph should be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed.”

Garry Winogrand

Cindy Sherman

“I’m really just using the mirror to summon something I don’t even know until I see it.”

Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman | Inspirational Photography Quotes

Cynthia Morris Sherman is a Pictures Generation American artist. He was born in the year 1954, on January 19. She was mostly renowned for her portrait photographs.

Some other quotes by Cindy Sherman:

“I feel I’m anonymous in my work. When I look at the pictures, I never see myself; they aren’t self-portraits. Sometimes I disappear.”

Cindy Sherman

“My ideas are not developed before I actually do the pieces.”

Cindy Sherman

Don McCullin

“Photography is the truth if it’s being handled by a truthful person.”

Don McCullin
Don McCullin | Famous Photography Quotes

Donald McCullin is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban lifestyle. He was born in the year 1935, and began with his career in the year 1959, and has been a specialist in the underside of society, unemployed, downtrodden, and the impoverished.

More quotes by Don McCullin:

“The real truth of life is on the streets. Photograph the daily lives of people, and how they exist, and how they fight for space and time and pleasure.”

Don McCullin

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”

Don McCullin

Frans Lanting

“I think a photograph, of whatever it might be – a landscape, a person – requires personal involvement. That means knowing your subject, not just snapping at what’s in front of you.”

Frans Lanting
Frans Lanting | Photography Quotes

Frans Lanting was born in 1951 on July 23rd. He is a speaker, writer, and also a photojournalist for National Geography.

More quotes by Frans Lanting:

“Life is a force in its own right. It is a new element. And it has altered the Earth. It covers Earth like a skin.”

– Frans Lanting

Arnold Newman

” Whatever it is about pictures, photographs, it’s just about impossible to follow up with words. They don’t have anything to do with each other.”

Arnold Newman
Arnold Newman | Photography Quotes

Newman was born in the year 1918 in America. Arnold is known for his Environmental portraits of different artists and politicians. He was also known for his picked and particular still-life photographs. He died on June 6, 2006, in the USA.

Some other quotes by Arnold Newman:

“The camera is a mirror with a memory, but it cannot think.”

-Arnold Newman

“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

James Nachtwey

“Sometimes, one picture will touch one person then another and suddenly I am swarmed with people offering money, food, or shelter. It is then that I realize even just one picture was all worth it.”

James Nachtwey
James Nachtwey | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

James Nachtwey is an American photojournalist and war photographer. He has been awarded the Overseas Press Club’s Robert Capa, Gold Medal, five times, and two World Press Photo awards. In 2003, Nachtwey was injured in a grenade attack on his convoy while working in Baghdad, from which he made a full recovery.

Other quotes by James Nachtwey:

“I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated.”

-James Nachtwey

“I try to use whatever I know about photography to be of service to the people I’m photographing.”

-James Nachtwey

Martin Parr

“Unless it hurts, unless there’s some vulnerability there, I don’t think you’re going to get good photographs.”

Martin Parr
Martin Parr | Famous Photography Quotes

Martin Parr was born in the year 1952, this British photographer is known for his documentary photographs. Especially a photojournalist who mainly focused on He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical, and anthropological look.

More inspirational quotes by Martin Parr:

“Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work.”

-Martin Parr

“With photography, I like to create a fiction out of reality. I try and do this by taking society’s natural prejudice and giving this a twist.”

-Martin Parr

Helmut Newton

“The desire to discover, the desire to move, to capture the flavor, three concepts that describe the art of photography.”

Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton | Famous Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Helmut Newton was a German-Australian photographer. Born in the year 1920 of October the 31st. He was a fashion photographer who mainly worked for Vogue and other publications. He died in the year 2004 on January 23rd.

Other quotes by Helmut Newton:

“My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.”

-Helmut Newton

“There are two dirty words in photography, one is art, the other is good taste.”

-Helmut Newton

Sally Mann

“Unless you photograph what you love, you’re not going to make good art.”

Sally Mann
Sally Mann | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Sally Mann was born in the year 1951, in America. She is widely popular for her black and white photos. Also her very well-known work her landscapes and death and decay.

Other quotes by Sally Mann:

“When the good pictures come, we hope they tell truths, but truths “told slant,” just as Emily Dickinson commanded.”

-Sally Mann

“I like to make people a little uncomfortable. It encourages them to examine who they are and why they think the way they do.”

-Sally Mann

Jimmy Nelson

“Until you truly let go, until you truly form humility, can you find empathy and in that empathy you find contact and in that contact, you find out who you truly are, and who the people are around you.”

Jimmy Nelson
Jimmy Nelson | Best Photography Quotes

Jimmy Nelson was born in 1967, is an English photographer. He is known for his portraits of tribal and indigenous people.

Lewis Hine

“Photography can light-up darkness and expose ignorance.”

Lewis Hine
Lewis Hine | Photography Quotes

Lewis Wickes Hine was an American sociologist and photographer. Born in the year 1874 on September 26th. Hine used to use his camera as a form of the rifle against social rights. His photographs spoke against child labor in the United States. He died in 1940.

More inspirational quotes by Lewis Wickes Hine:

“Photographs don’t lie, but liars may photograph”

-Lewis Hine

“Photography can light-up darkness and expose ignorance.”

-Lewis Hine

Paul Strand

“The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.”

Paul Strand
Paul Strand | Famous Photography Quotes

Paul Strand was an American photographer and filmmaker who was born in 1890 on October the 16th. Besides his fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. In the 1930s, he helped found the Photo League. Later he died in 1976 on March the 31st.

More quotes by Paul Strand:

“Your photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really sees.”

-Paul Strand

“All good art is abstract in its structure.”

-Paul Strand

Ellen von Unwerth

“I like to photograph anyone before they know what their best angles are.”

Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Ellen is a German photographer who was born on January the 17th of 1954. Before she started her photography career she was a model for ten years. And now she takes photographs related to fashion and advertisements.

Peter Lindbergh

“Talent is more important than nice body parts.”

Peter Lindbergh
Peter Lindbergh | Famous Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Peter Lindbergh was a German fashion photographer and film director. He was born on the 23rd of November 1944. Besides, photographer Lindbergh also worked for magazines in 1971.

He had studied arts in Berlin and Krefeld and exhibited his works before graduation. He died in 2019 on the year 2019 September 3rd.

More quotes by Peter Lindbergh:

“Photography is no longer a love affair with the beauty of reality.”

-Peter Lindbergh

“Now people ask whether photography is art, but I think the question is of absolutely no interest.”

-Peter Lindbergh

Weegee

“To me, a photograph is a page from life, and that being the case, it must be real.”

Weegee
Weegee | Famous Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Weegee was born in Ukraine in 1899 on June the 12th. was a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography in New York City.

Some more quotes by Weegee:

“So, keep your eyes open. If you see anything, take it. Remember – you’re as good as your last picture. One day you’re hero, the next day you’re a bum…”

-Weegee

“I am a perfectionist. When I take a picture…it’s gotta be good.”

-Weegee

Lisa Kristine

“One advantage of photography is that it’s visual and can transcend language.”

Lisa Kristine
Lisa Kristine | Inspirational  Photography Quotes

Lisa Kristine was born in the year 1965 2nd of September. Lisa Kristine is an American humanitarian photographer, activist, and speaker.

Her photography career indulges cultures and social causes, such as modern slavery, in more than 100 countries. Throughout, she also has been supporting many social groups and organizations.

More inspirational quotes by Lisa Kristine:

“When people think of slavery, they think of an era from the distant past. Grainy photographs from Civil War times. And yet it goes on.”

-Lisa Kristine

“My work is about the establishment of trust. For someone to share their authenticity with me is a soul-to-soul thing. It’s not a lens-to-soul thing.”

-Lisa Kristine

Eliot Porter

“Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject.”

Eliot Porter
 Eliot Porter | Famous Photography Quotes

Eliot Furness Porter was an American photographer who was born in the year 1901 of December the 6th, he was best known for his intimate color photographs of nature. He died in 1990 on November 02.

Other quotes by Eliot Porter:

“Photographs are believed more than words; thus they can be used persuasively to show people who have never taken the trouble to look what is there.”

-Eliot Porter

“I do not photograph for ulterior purposes. I photograph for the thing itself — for the photograph — without consideration of how it may be used.”

-Eliot Porter

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