Famous quotes by Photographers

Photographers

Photographers see the world in frames and fleeting light, translating moments into stories that outlast the instant. Their words reveal the patience, curiosity, and craft behind the lens, touching on observation, composition, ethics, and the joy of making. From darkroom lessons to digital experimentation, these perspectives highlight how images shape memory, truth, and imagination. Whether you are a maker or admirer, let their insights sharpen your eye, challenge assumptions, and invite you to notice what often goes overlooked.

"The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"It's not enough to have talent, you also have to be Hungarian"

Robert Capa, Photographer

"People want security in this insecure world"

David Bailey, Photographer

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"The still must tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told"

Cindy Sherman, Photographer

Small: 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, Photographer

Small: Cindy Sherman

"Everyone thinks these are self-portraits but they aren't meant to be. I just use myself as a model because I know I can push myself to extremes, make each shot as ugly or goofy or silly as possible"

Cindy Sherman, Photographer

Small: Cindy Sherman

"The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth"

Edward Steichen, Photographer

"Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"People think because it's photography it's not worth as much, and because it's a woman artist, you're still not getting as much - there's still definitely that happening. I'm still really competitive when it comes to, I guess, the male painters and male artists. I still think that's really unfair"

Cindy Sherman, Photographer

Small: Cindy Sherman

"I hope to stay unemployed as a war photographer till the end of my life"

Robert Capa, Photographer

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

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Photographer

"As soon as you forbid something, you make it extraordinarily appealing. You also bring shame in as a phenomenon"

Jock Sturges, Photographer

"The more specific you are, the more general it'll be"

Diane Arbus, Photographer

"All critics should be assassinated"

Man Ray, Photographer

"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, Photographer

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium"

Ansel Adams, Photographer

"I'll see a photograph of a character and try to copy them on to my face. I think I'm really observant, and thinking how a person is put together, seeing them on the street and noticing subtle things about them that make them who they are"

Cindy Sherman, Photographer

Small: Cindy Sherman

"Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes"

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Photographer

"To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy"

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Photographer

"I'm an artist that's attracted to a specific way of seeing and a way of being"

Jock Sturges, Photographer

"I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them"

Diane Arbus, Photographer

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

Yousuf Karsh, Photographer

"You can't expect to take a definitive image in half an hour. It takes days, often years"

Fay Godwin, Photographer

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