Understanding the Essence of Photojournalism

Definition of Photojournalism

Photojournalism is more than just photography; it’s a form of storytelling that relies on compelling visuals to narrate a story. It goes beyond capturing aesthetically pleasing images; it aims to document reality as it unfolds.

Evolution and History of Photojournalism

The roots of photojournalism can be traced back to the early 20th century. This was when technological advancements in photography allowed for the creation of more portable cameras. This marked the beginning of a new era in journalism, where images began to supplement written narratives.

The Significance of Photojournalism in Society

At its core, the essence of photojournalism lies in its ability to freeze time. It encapsulates the essence of a fleeting moment within the frame of a photograph.

The significance of this capability extends beyond the aesthetic appeal of a well-composed image. It is about capturing the truth of a given moment. The photographer becomes a storyteller, utilizing the language of visuals to articulate narratives that resonate deeply with the human experience.

The authenticity embedded in these images is what sets photojournalism apart. There is an inherent truthfulness that emanates from a photograph. It is this authenticity that forms the bedrock of the emotional impact photojournalism has on its audience.

Impact on Society and Public Awareness

Photojournalism has the unique ability to bring hidden stories to the forefront of public consciousness. Behind every photograph is a narrative waiting to be unearthed—a story that might be overlooked in the hustle of daily life. 

Skills Required for Successful Photojournalism

Photography Techniques

At the heart of successful photojournalism lies a mastery of photography techniques that goes beyond mere technical proficiency. Photojournalists are visual storytellers, and their ability to capture impactful moments hinges on a nuanced understanding of composition, lighting, and timing.

Keen Eye for Composition

Successful photojournalists possess a discerning eye for composition. They understand how to frame a shot to draw the viewer’s attention to the focal point while maintaining a harmonious balance in the overall image. Whether it’s adhering to the rule of thirds or experimenting with unconventional compositions, these professionals have a visual acuity that transforms everyday scenes into compelling narratives.

Mastery of Lighting

Whether working with natural light or employing artificial sources, they grasp the nuances of light and shadow to convey mood and emotion. From capturing the soft glow of a sunrise to navigating the stark contrasts of harsh midday sun, a photojournalist’s proficiency in manipulating light is paramount.

Journalism Skills

While technical prowess in photography is essential, the craft of photojournalism demands a fusion of visual artistry and journalistic instinct. Photojournalists are not mere observers; they are storytellers with a commitment to truth and integrity.

Strong Journalistic Instincts

Beyond capturing visually arresting images, photojournalists need to think like journalists. They must be adept at identifying newsworthy events, understanding the broader context of a story, and recognizing the human narratives that underpin their visual narratives. This instinct enables them to tell stories that resonate with depth and authenticity.

Understanding Ethical Considerations

Photojournalism often navigates ethically challenging terrain. Photojournalists are faced with the responsibility of documenting real-life events while respecting the privacy and dignity of their subjects. The ethical considerations extend beyond the choice of subject matter to include issues of consent, sensitivity, and the potential impact of their work on individuals and communities.

Spotlight on Notable Figures in Photojournalism

Pioneers in the Field

The annals of photojournalism bear witness to the indelible contributions of pioneers who laid the foundation for this unique form of storytelling. Among them, two luminaries stand out, their names etched in the history of the craft: Henri Cartier-Bresson and Dorothea Lange.

Henri Cartier-Bresson: Master of the Decisive Moment

Henri Cartier-Bresson, often hailed as the father of modern photojournalism, was a French photographer whose keen eye for the “decisive moment” revolutionized the field. Born in 1908, Cartier-Bresson co-founded Magnum Photos, a cooperative agency that allowed photographers greater control over their work.

Cartier-Bresson’s work is characterized by a profound sense of composition and timing. He had an uncanny ability to capture fleeting, yet significant, moments in the fabric of everyday life. From the joyous exuberance of a child’s laughter to the solemnity of historical events, his lens distilled the essence of the human experience. His iconic image of a man leaping over a puddle, titled “Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare,” remains emblematic of his mastery in freezing moments that transcend the ordinary.

Dorothea Lange: Documenting the Human Condition

Dorothea Lange, an American documentary photographer, became renowned for her poignant images capturing the human condition during the Great Depression. Born in 1895, Lange’s empathetic approach to her subjects revealed the stark realities of economic hardship and social injustice.

Her most famous work, “Migrant Mother,” a photograph of a distressed migrant worker and her children, became an enduring symbol of the struggles faced during the Depression era. Lange’s commitment to using photography as a tool for social change laid the groundwork for the role of photojournalists as advocates and witnesses to the human story.

Notable Contemporary Photojournalists

As the torchbearers of the rich legacy left by pioneers, contemporary photojournalists continue to shape the narrative of our times. Among them, Lynsey Addario and James Nachtwey stand out as stalwarts. They employ their lenses to navigate the complexities of modern life.

Lynsey Addario: Bridging Cultures Through Photography

Lynsey Addario, an American photojournalist born in 1973, has made a name for herself through her unflinching coverage of conflict zones and humanitarian crises. Working for publications such as National Geographic, Addario’s work delves into the human impact of war, displacement, and social upheaval.
Her images go beyond the surface, capturing the resilience and vulnerability of individuals affected by global events. Through her lens, Addario bridges cultural divides, offering viewers a glimpse into the lives of those who bear the brunt of geopolitical shifts. Her dedication to storytelling with depth and nuance underscores the continued relevance of photojournalism in fostering empathy and understanding.

James Nachtwey: A Witness to Global Injustices

James Nachtwey, an American photojournalist born in 1948, has spent decades documenting some of the most harrowing moments of our time. His work covers a spectrum of issues, from conflict and human rights abuses to the global impact of diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Nachtwey’s images are not just photographs; they are visual testimonies to the resilience of the human spirit and stark reminders of the injustices that persist in our world. With a career spanning over four decades, Nachtwey’s dedication to bearing witness to suffering and inequality exemplifies the profound impact that photojournalism can have on shaping societal awareness and conscience.

The Role of Photojournalism in the Digital Age

Virality and Influence

As photojournalism strides into the digital age, the landscape of its impact has undergone a transformative shift. In the interconnected web of social media, powerful images possess the ability to transcend borders and cultural barriers, achieving a level of virality that was unimaginable in earlier eras.

The Power of Virality

In the age of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, a compelling photograph has the potential to go viral, reaching a global audience within moments of being shared. The immediacy and reach of social media provide photojournalists with an unprecedented platform to amplify their stories and effect change on a scale previously unattainable.

Responsibilities of Viral Content

However, this newfound virality comes with its own set of responsibilities. The impact of an image shared globally is magnified, making ethical considerations, accuracy, and sensitivity more crucial than ever. Photojournalists must navigate the potential for their work to be misinterpreted or taken out of context, recognizing the weight their images carry in shaping public perceptions.

Ethical Considerations in the Digital Age

The Challenge of Digital Manipulation

With the ease of digital tools, the authenticity of images has become a pressing concern in the digital age of photojournalism. The boundary between truth and manipulation blurs as powerful software allows for seamless alterations to photographs. This ease of digital manipulation raises questions about the integrity of the images presented to the public.

Maintaining Integrity

In the pursuit of authenticity, photojournalists face the challenge of maintaining integrity amidst the temptations of digital enhancement. The pressure to capture attention in a saturated online environment may lead to ethical compromises. Striking a balance between creating visually striking content and adhering to the principles of truthful representation becomes a constant tightrope walk.

Navigating the Waters of Information Overload

In an era where information flows ceaselessly and images inundate social feeds, photojournalists must grapple with the saturation of their craft. The challenge is not only to produce compelling content but to ensure that it withstands scrutiny in an environment where truth is often subjective.

The Ever-Evolving Role of Photojournalism

As technology continues to advance and the digital realm evolves, the role of photojournalism expands beyond traditional boundaries. The immediacy of social media has elevated the importance of visual storytelling, making it a potent tool for influencing public opinion, mobilizing movements, and shaping the narrative on global issues.

Conclusion

Photojournalism stands as a powerful medium for storytelling, transcending language barriers and fostering a deeper understanding of the world. Its ability to capture the essence of moments makes it an indispensable part of our cultural fabric. As we navigate the ever-changing technology and societal expectations, the role of photojournalism remains pivotal in shaping our collective narrative.

Afterword

We hope that you find this article helpful. Thank you for reading and you’re always free to leave a comment. If you find this article interesting, consider checking out one of our recently published posts. A few of them showcase advancements in technology such as AI Art Generators. On the other hand, if you’re looking towards Photography, we also offer great articles for your inspiration. We also have multiple articles that talk about the various printing mediums for wall art. May these articles give you inspiration for your next print!

Find them here:

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We enjoy reading your comments and insights with our posts! Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave them below! -Mark

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A documentary and landscape photographer, Josef Koudelka first came to international prominence as the anonymous Czech photographer who chronicled the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The images he produced were eventually smuggled out of Prague and published in the Sunday Times.

Thematically, his work reveals humanity from the depths of chaos, portraying ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances and conflicts. Throughout his lengthy career he has established himself as the foremost chronicler of the changing landscape of Europe.

In this article, we’ll be sharing 25 of the best Josef Koudelka quotes. If you find the quotes helpful then we would be grateful if you could share the article with other photographers.

Josef Koudelka Quotes

I try to be a photographer. I cannot talk. I am not interested in talking. If I have anything to say, it may be found in my images.

I would like to see everything, look at everything, I want to be the view itself.

When I first started to take photographs in Czechoslovakia, I met this old gentleman, this old photographer, who told me a few practical things. One of the things he said was, “Josef, a photographer works on the subject, but the subject works on the photographer.

I don’t pretend to be an intellectual or a philosopher. I just look.

What matters most to me is to take photographs; to continue taking them and not to repeat myself. To go further, to go as far as I can.

The Work

I photograph only something that has to do with me, and I never did anything that I did not want to do. I do not do editorial and I never do advertising. No, my freedom is something I do not give away easily.

I never accepted any assignment, never photographed for money. I took photographs just for myself.

My work has no theme. I don’t care if my photographs get published, and I have no interest in “the news.” But the invasion of Prague was not news, it was my life.

[My] photographs are proof of what happened. When I go to Russia, sometimes I meet ex-soldiers… They say: “We came to liberate you….” I say: “Listen, I think it was quite different. I saw people being killed.” They say: No. We never… no shooting. No. No.” So I can show them my Prague 1968 photographs and say: “Listen, these are my pictures. I was there.” And they have to believe me.

The changes taking place in this part of Europe are enormous and very rapid. One world is disappearing. I am trying to photograph what’s left. I have always been drawn to what is ending, what will soon no longer exist.

Personally, I have had the good fortune of always being able to do what I wanted, never working for others. Maybe it is a silly principle, but the idea that no one can buy me is important for me. I refuse assignments, even for projects that I have decided to do anyhow. It is somewhat the same with my books. When my first book, the one on the gypsies, was published, it was hard for me to accept the idea that I could no longer choose the people to whom I would show my photos, that any one could buy them.

It never seemed important to me that my photos be published. It’s important that I take them. There were periods where I didn’t have money, and I would imagine that someone would come to me and say: “Here is money, you can go do your photography, but you must not show it.” I would have accepted right away. On the other hand, if someone had come to me saying: “Here is money to do your photography, but after your death it must be destroyed,” I would have refused.

I don’t like captions. I prefer people to look at my pictures and invent their own stories.

By [photographing theater] the same way I photograph real life, I learned to see the world as theater. To photograph the theater of the world interests me more… With the gypsies, it was theater, too. The difference was that the play had not been written and there was no director – there were only actors… It was the theater of life… All I had to know was how to react.

Devastation is photogenic.

Koudelka on Technique

Sometimes I photograph without looking through the viewfinder. I have mastered that well enough, it is almost as if I were looking through it.

…photography was easier in the beginning. It’s like a dart game: at the beginning, you can toss them anywhere, they will always be well placed. Wherever you hit is the right place. But once you start building something, you realize that certain pieces are missing.

Listen, I have never had any hero in my life or in photography. I just travel, I look and everything influences me.

When I photograph, I do not think much. If you looked at my contacts you would ask yourself: “What is this guy doing?” But I keep working with my contacts and with my prints, I look at them all the time. I believe that the result of this work stays in me and at the moment of photographing it comes out, without my thinking of it.

Quotes for Better Photography

If I couldn’t shoot lots of photos, I would not be the photographer that I am. Still, the cost of film has often been a problem. At times, to save money, I had to work with remainders of movie-film, and even to buy film that was stolen. But when I have only three rolls of film left in my bag, I panic.

I have to shoot three cassettes of film a day, even when not ‘photographing’, in order to keep the eye in practice.

What I needed most was to travel so that I could take photographs.

I never stay in one country more than three months. Why? Because I was interested in seeing, and if I stay longer I become blind.

I am not interested in repetition. I don’t want to reach the point from where I wouldn’t know how to go further. It’s good to set limits for oneself, but there comes a moment when we must destroy what we have constructed.

If I am dissatisfied, it’s simply because good photos are few and far between. A good photo is a miracle.

What’s your Favorite Josef Koudelka Quote?

Have a favorite Josef Koudelka quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. Also, don’t forget to share it with others through the usual channels (social media, forums, websites, etc).

To learn more about Koudelka’s photography, we recommend reading checking out his photographer profile on Magnum’s website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Visit the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

More Quote Articles:

• Robert Capa Quotes
• Henri Cartier-Bresson Quotes
• Don McCullin Quotes
• Photojournalism and Documentary Quotes

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W Eugene Smith Quotes

Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold.

My pictures are complex and so am I.

I can’t stand these damn shows on museum walls with neat little frames, where you look at the images as if they were pieces of art. I want them to be pieces of life!

Each time I pressed the shutter release it was a shouted condemnation hurled with the hope that the picture might survive through the years, with the hope that they might echo through the minds of men in the future – causing them caution and remembrance and realization.

My camera, my intentions stopped no man from falling. Nor did they aid him after he had fallen. It could be said that photographs be damned for they bind no wounds. Yet, I reasoned, if my photographs could cause compassionate horror within the viewer, they might also prod the conscience of that viewer into taking action.

A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes – just sometimes – one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness. Much depends upon the viewer; in some, photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought.

Smith on Photojournalism

I think photojournalism is documentary photography with a purpose.

Photographic journalism, because of the tremendous audience reached by publications using it, has more influence on public thinking and opinion than any other branch of photography. For these reasons, it is important that the photographer-journalist has (beside the essential mastery of his tools) a strong sense of integrity and the intelligence to understand and present his subject matter accordingly.

Many claim I am a photographer of tragedy. In the greater sense I am not, for though I often photograph where the tragic emotion is present, the result is almost invariably affirmative.

I try to take what voice I have and I give it to those who don’t have one at all.

Humanity is worth more than a picture of humanity that serves no purpose other than exploitation.

… to became neighbours and friends instead of journalists. This is the way to make your finest photographs.

I think the only thing wrong with the word “documentary” is that it can give some people the idea that you can make absolutely dull pictures of the ingredients of something instead of the heart of something.

To have his photographs live on in history, past their important but short lifespan in a publication, is the final desire of nearly every photographer-artist who works in journalism. He can reach this phase only by combining a profound penetration into the character of the subject with a perfection of composition and technique – a consolidation necessary for any photographic masterpiece.

I think that basically all of my photographs are failures… I’m not saying that as a self negation or anything like that, I just don’t judge it upon it upon how “good” it was, but rather upon how I’d fail upon what I was trying to say… I think this “Tomoko in her Bath” personally is the best photograph I ever made, it came to say what I was trying to say.

Quotes on Capturing the Truth

The journalistic photographer can have no other than a personal approach; and it is impossible for him to be completely objective. Honest -yes. Objective – no.

The first word I would remove from the folklore of journalism is the word objective.

With considerable soul searching, that to the utmost of my ability, I have let truth be the prejudice.

I am constantly torn between the attitude of the conscientious journalist who is a recorder and interpreter of the facts and of the creative artist who often is necessarily at poetic odds with the literal facts.

I am an idealist. I often feel I would like to be an artist in an ivory tower. Yet it is imperative that I speak to people, so I must desert that ivory tower. To do this, I am a journalist—a photojournalist. But I am always torn between the attitude of the journalist, who is a recorder of facts, and the artist, who is often necessarily at odds with the facts. My principle concern is for honesty, above all honesty with myself.

Up to and including the moment of exposure, the photographer is working in an undeniably subjective way. By his choice of technical approach, by the selection of the subject matter… and by his decision as to the exact cinematic instant of exposure, he is blending the variables of interpretation into an emotional whole.

The Photo Essay

I bear in mind that I have to have an opener and closer. Then I make a mental picture of how to fill in between these two. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I’ll lie in bed and do a sketch of the pictures I already have. Then I’ll decide what pictures I need. In this way, I can see how the job is shaping up in the layout form.

In the building of a story, I being with my own prejudices, mark them as prejudices, and start finding new thinking, the contradictions to my prejudices, What I am saying is that you cannot be objective until you try to be fair. You try to be honest and you try to be fair and maybe truth will come out.

[I would list the picture to take, and other things to do. It began with a beginning, but it was a much tighter and more difficult problem at the end. I’d say, ‘Well, she has this relationship to that person. I haven’t shown it. How can I take a photograph that will show that? What is this situation to other situations?’

Here it becomes really like a playwright who must know what went on before the curtain went up, and have some idea of what will happen when the curtain goes down. And along the way, as he blocks in his characters, he must find and examine those missing relationships that five the validity of interpretation to the play.]

I don’t think a picture for the sake of a picture is justified – only when you consider the purpose. For example, I photographed a woman giving birth, for a story on a midwife. There are at least two gaps of great pictures in my pictures.

I have personally always fought very hard against ever packaging a story so that all things seem to come to an end at the end of a story. I always want to leave it so that there is a tomorrow. I suggest what might happen tomorrow – at least to say all things are not resolved, that this is life, and it is continuing.

The Importance of Emotion

Most photographers seem to operate with a pane of glass between themselves and their subjects. They just can’t get inside and know the subject.

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

The purpose of all art is to cause a deep and emotion, also one that is entertaining or pleasing. Out of the depth and entertainment comes value.

What uses having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling?

W Eugene Smith Quotes on Technique

I didn’t write the rules – why should I follow them? Since I put a great deal of time and research to know what I am about? I ask and arrange if I feel it is legitimate. The honesty lies in my – the photographer’s – ability to understand.

[I crop ] for the benefit of the pictures. The world just does not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm camera.

In music I still prefer the minor key, and in printing I like the light coming from the dark. I like pictures that surmount the darkness, and many of my photographs are that way. It is the way I see photographically. For practical reasons, I think it looks better in print too.

[on why he prints his own pictures] The same reason a great writer doesn’t turn his draft over to a secretary… I will retouch.

Negatives are the notebooks, the jottings, the false starts, the whims, the poor drafts, and the good draft but never the completed version of the work… The print and a proper one is the only completed photograph, whether it is specifically shaded for reproduction, or for a museum wall.

W Eugene Smith Tips for Better Photography

When a good picture comes along, I shoot it. Later I may find a better variation of the same shot, so I shoot all over again.

Available light is any damn light that is available!

Since I am somewhat adequate as a photographer, I remain with it.

Halsmann: What if nobody sees [the work]? Besides a few friends?

Smith: Answer this and you will see how artists have acted throughout the bloody ages. The goal is the work itself.

An artist must be ruthlessly selfish.

Hardening of the categories causes art disease.

Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors.

What’s your Favorite W. Eugene Smith Quote?

Have a favorite W. Eugene Smith quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. Like the article? Share it with other photographers.

To learn more about W. Eugene Smith’s photography, check out his photographer profile on Magnum’s website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Visit the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

Related Quote Articles:

• Paul Strand Quotes
• Henri Cartier-Bresson Quotes
• Robert Frank Quotes
• Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Quotes

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Robert Doisneau was a pioneering street photographer, who is best known for masterfully photographing scenes from everyday life on the streets of Paris. His work captured the beauty and absurdity of life and provides a remarkable portrait of Paris in the twentieth century.

Below we’ve listed 32 quotes from the master photographer to inspire, motivate and help your photography to the next level.

Robert Doisneau Quotes

The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.

There are days when the simple act of seeing appears to be true happiness.

A photographer who made a picture from a splendid moment, an accidental pose of someone or a beautiful scenery, is the finder of a treaser.

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.

The best photos, the ones that are remembered, are the ones that have first passed through the person’s mind before being restored by the camera.

People like my photos because they see in them what they would see if they stopped rushing about and took the time to enjoy the city.

The world that I was trying to show was a world where I would have felt at peace, where people would be pleasant, and where I would find the kindness I wished to receive. My photographs were proof that such world could exist.

I had fun throughout my lifetime, building my own small theater.

Doisneau on the Work

A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there – even if you put them end to end, they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds, snatched from eternity.

For a photographer, the first 70 years are a bit difficult, but after that things get better.

When I first started to take photos I’d pull the black cloth over my head and feel totally secure in the knowledge that no one could see me.

Chance is the one thing you can’t buy. You have to pay for it and you have to pay for it with your life, spending a lot of time, you pay for it with time, not the wasting of time but the spending of time.

Why should I have to photograph in a foreign place when people there do it very well for themselves?

I’m not a collector at heart. I’m never tormented by the longing to possess things. I’m quite happy with my pictures. I’ve been cohabiting with them for years now and we know each other inside out, so I feel I’m entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they’re like plants they won’t really flourish unless you talk to them. I haven’t gone that far – not yet anyway. Lots of them behave like good little girls and give me a nice smile whenever I walk past, but others are real bitches and never miss any opportunity to ruin my life. I handle them with kid gloves.

The advantage we have, compared to painters and writers, is that we never lose contact with the rough side of life. It is a lesson in humility and it keeps us from some pitfalls. But above all it nourishes us.

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile!

Capturing Everyday Life

If you’re going to work in a life teeming with people you must have a few rock-hard principles to anchor you and you mustn’t dissipate your efforts. So I decided to stick to ordinary, everyday life for my source material and steer clear of picturesque effects. When I had to choose between a member of some lunatic sect and a French polisher, I’d choose the French polisher.

I only feel at home in the sort of streets where you come across an old-age pensioner with a little white dog, a flower lady, a kid on roller skates, and a fat man, all atthe same time. I shall always be the last person left sauntering in the street.

I like people for their weaknesses and faults. I get on well with ordinary people. We talk. We start with the weather, and little by little we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were examining them with a magnifying class, like a cold and scientific observer. It’s very brotherly. And it’s better, isn’t it, to shed some light on those people who are never in the limelight.

I like to think that the universe I have liked will continue on a little bit longer and then will dissolve slowly, gently after I die. Fading in and out, like in the cinema, where we are accustomed to a fade-out at the end. I accept a fade-out. But what I cannot conceive of is a “click” at the end. In the case of those I have liked who have passed away, we continue to read their books, we continue to look at their drawings, their photos. It seems to me that in this way they continue to walk a bit of the way with us. And it is perhaps for this reason that I have photographed the old Paris that I liked so much when I was twenty or thirty years old.

[On his famous photograph, Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville] We all realised that it represented a perfect fantasy. It encapsulates the world’s view of Paris as the city of love and freedom.

Doisneau Quotes for Better Photography

You know, they always say that the photographer is “a hunter of images.” That is a flattering image, the idea of a hunter, it’s virile, acquired power. Actually though, it isn’t that. We are really fishermen with hooks and lines.

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

The photographer must be absorbent, like a blotter, allow himself to be permeated by the poetic moment… His technique should be like an animal function… he should act automatically.

You’ve got to struggle against the pollution of intelligence in order to become an animal with very sharp instincts – a sort of intuitive medium – so that to photograph becomes a magical act, and slowly other more suggestive images begin to appear behind the visible image, for which the photographer cannot be held responsible.

I prefer my hesitations, my false paths, my stammering, to a preconceived idea.

I’m not that sure of myself. I start off with a story. I wait for the moment that fills me with wonder. Or I wait for some kind of miracle that that will always happen.

There is that moment when we are truly visionary. There, everything works tremendously well. But all this is only a part of that great game that puts us into a trance, into a state of receptivity. This trance doesn’t last long, however, because life always calls you back to its commands. There are always contingencies. But somehow, despite it all, the effect does last. I think that it could be classed as a feeling. For me it is a kind of “religion of looking.”

To Suggest, Not Tell

Nowadays people’s visual imagination is so much more sophisticated, so much more developed, particularly in young people, that now you can make an image which just slightly suggests something, they can make of it what they will.

If you take photographs, don’t speak, don’t write, don’t analyse yourself, and don’t answer any questions.

I don’t usually give out advice or recipes, but you must let the person looking at the photograph go some of the way to finishing it. You should offer them a seed that will grow and open up their minds.

You must not trample on other people’s secret gardens. To suggest is to create; to describe is to destroy.

What’s your Favorite Robert Doisneau Quote?

Have a favorite Robert Doisneau quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To learn more about Doisneau’s photography, visit the Robert Doisneau Foundation website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Check out the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

Related Quote Articles:

• Henri Cartier-Bresson Quotes
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Andre Kertesz was a pioneer of street photography and a remarkable still life photogapher. In a career that spanned seven decades, he captured everyday life with poetic beauty and elevated ordinary objects to exquisite art.

Below we’ve listed 23 of our favorite quotes from one of the most influential photographers in the history of medium to inspire and help take your photography to the next level.

Andre Kertesz Quotes

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

I can’t talk about my style. It us kind of difficult for me. I don’t like styles. I only like taking photos and expressing myself through them.

Photography is my only language.

I am not a surrealist. I am only a realist. All this group – surrealists – use my name. No, no, I am realist.

Of course a picture can lie, but only if you are not honest with yourself…

I attribute to photography the task of recording the real nature of things, their interior, their life. The photographer’s art is a continuous discovery which requires patience and time. A photograph draws its beauty from the truth with which it’s marked. For this very reason I refuse all the tricks of the trade and professional virtuosity which could make me betray my career.

As soon as I find a subject which interests me, I leave it to the lens to record it truthfully. Look at the reporters and at the amateur photographer! They both have only one goal; to record a memory or a document. And that is pure photography.

The most valuable things in a life are a man’s memories. And they are priceless.

Kertesz on Subjects

I am a lucky man. I can do something with almost anything I see. Everything is still interesting to me.

You do not have to imagine things; reality gives you all you need.

Everything is a subject. Every subject has a rhythm. To feel it is the raison d’être. The photograph is a fixed moment of such a raison d’être, which lives on in itself.

Because I’m forever a beginner who discovers the world again and again.

I do not document anything, I give an interpretation.

People in motion are wonderful to photograph. It means catching the right moment… when one thing changes into something else.

The moment always dictates in my work. What I feel, I do. This is the most important thing for me, Everybody can look, but they don’t necessarily see. I never calculate or consider; I see a situation and I know that it’s right, even if I have to go back to get the proper lighting.

Kertesz Quotes on Technique

Technique isn’t important. Technique is in the blood. Events and mood are more important than good light and the happening is what is important.

If you want to write you should learn the alphabet. You write and write and in the end you hava a beautiful, perfect alphabet. But it isn’t the alphabed that is important. The important thing is what you are writing, what you are expressing. The same thing goes for photography. Photographs can be technically perfect and even beautiful, but they have no expression.

I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my life.

I do what I feel, that’s all, I am an ordinary photographer working for his own pleasure. That’s all I’ve ever done.

I like high shots. If you are on the same level, you lose many things.

Have confidence in the inventions and transformations of chance.

Seeing is not enough; you have to feel what you photograph.

I just walk around, observing the subject from various angles until the picture elements arrange themselves into a composition that pleases my eye.

What’s your Favorite Andre Kertesz Quote?

Have a favorite Andre Kertesz quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To see more of Andre Kertesz’s photography, check out the Kertesz image archive on the Artsy.net website.

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Recommended book: Andre Kertesz: His Life and Work

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Visit the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

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Dorothea Lange Quotes

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

Art is a by-product of an act of total attention.

I realize more and more what it takes to be a really good photographer. You go in over your head, not just up to your neck.

Put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares your life with you.

One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you’d be stricken blind. To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. I have only touched it, just touched it.

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.

I would like to see photographers become responsible and photography to realize its potential.

To be good, photographs have to be full of the world.

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

Documentary Photography Quotes

For me documentary photography is less a matter of subject and more a matter of approach. The important thing is not what is photographed but how.

It is not a factual photograph per se. The documentary photograph carries with it another thing, a quality in the subject that the artist responds to. It is a photograph which carries the full meaning of the episode or the circumstance or the situation that can only be revealed – because you can’t really recapture it – by this other quality. There is no real warfare between the artist and the documentary photographer. He has to be both.

I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history.

This benefit of seeing… can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives, and look thoughtfully at a quiet image… the viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate.

When you are doing a lot of hard fast field work, it’s a physical necessity to forget every day. You can’t try to remember it in any continuity. You get so burdened if you try to do it the other way. You can’t dictate to your material… We found our way in, slid in on the edges. We used our hunches. And it was hard, hard living.

Walker Evans is, in my opinion, an extraordinary man. He had extraordinary eyesight. There is always a little twist in it somewhere, there is a bitterness, not always, I take that word out, and there is an edge, a bitter edge to Walker. That I sensed; and it’s pleasurable to me. I like that bitter edge. He seemed very straight and very true. I don’t care if he’s a son-of- a-gun.

My own approach is based upon three considerations. First – hands off ! Whenever I photograph I do not molest or tamper with or arrange. Second – a sense of place. I try to picture as part of its surroundings, as having roots. Third – a sense of time. Whatever I photograph, I try to show as having its position in the past or in the present.

Lange used the following quote from the painter Francis Bacon as her credo for her documentary photography work:

The contemplation of things as they are, without error of confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention.

Francis Bacon

Lange on Subjects

As photographers, we turn our attention to the familiarities of which we are a part. So turning, we in our work can speak more than of our subject – we can speak with them; we can more than speak about our subjects – we can speak for them. They, given tongue, will be able to speak with and for us. And in this language will be proposed to the lens that with which, in the end, photography must be concerned – time, and place, and the works of man.

It came to me that what I had to do was to take pictures and concentrate on people, only people, all kinds of people, people who paid me and people who didn’t.

Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion… the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.

I am trying here to say something about the despised, the defeated, the alienated. About death and disaster, about the wounded, the crippled, the helpless, the rootless, the dislocated. About finality. About the last ditch.

Dorothea Lange Quotes for Better Photography

You know, so often it’s just sticking around and being there, remaining there, not swooping out in a cloud of dust: sitting down on the ground with people, letting children look at your camera with their dirty, grimy little hands, and putting their fingers on the lens, and you just let them, because you know that if you will behave in a generous manner, you are apt to receive it, you know?

I’ve never not been sure that I was a photographer any more than you would not be sure you were yourself. I was a photographer, or wanting to be a photographer, or beginning – but some phase of photographer I’ve always been.

Every image he sees, every photograph he takes, becomes in a sense a self-portrait. The portrait is made more meaningful by intimacy – an intimacy shared not only by the photographer with his subject but by the audience.

The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects.

Photographers stop photographing a subject too soon before they have exhausted the possibilities.

What’s your Favorite Dorothea Lange Quote?

Have a favorite Dorothea Lange quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To see more of Dorothea Lange’s photography, check out her image archive on the Museum of Modern Art website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Visit the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

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• Walker Evans Quotes
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• Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Quotes

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Lee Miller Quotes

I would rather take a photograph than be one.

There were lots of things, touching, poignant or queer I wanted to photograph…

I keep saying to everyone, ‘I didn’t waste a minute all my life’ – but I know myself, now, that if I had it over again, I’d be even more free with my ideas, with my body and my affection.

It seems to me that women have a bigger chance at success in photography than men… Women are quicker and more adaptable than men. And I think they have an intuition that helps them understand personalities more quickly than men.

I’m no good with my hands, though I am good with a screwdriver – taking a camera apart. But sewing on a button? I could scream.

The personality of the photographer, his approach, is really more important than his technical genius.

Quotes on the Work

[Being a great photojournalist is] a matter of getting out on a damn limb and sawing it off behind you.

Something crawled across my foot in the darkroom and I let out a yell and turned on the light. I never did find out that it was, a mouse or what. Then, I quickly realized that the film was totally exposed…Man [Ray] grabbed them, put them in hypo and looked at them later. He didn’t even bother to bawl me out, since I was so sunk. When he looked at them, the unexposed parts of the negative, which had been the black background, had been exposed by this sharp light that had been turned on and they had developed and came right up to the edge of the white, nude body. But the background and the image couldn’t heal together, so there was a line left which he called a “solarization.”

Miller on the rediscovery of solarization technique

No question that German civilians knew what went on. Railway into Dachau camp runs past villa, with trains of dead or semi-dead deportees. I usually don’t take pictures of horrors. But don’t think that every town and every area isn’t rich with them. I hope Vogue will feel it can publish these pictures.

I want the Utopian combination of security and freedom and emotionally, I need to be completely absorbed in some work or in a man I love.

Lee Miller and World War II

Women war photographers had to fight on two fronts: the bombs, and the men.

Paris had gone mad. The long, graceful, dignified avenues were crowded with flags and filled with screaming, cheering, pretty people. Girls, bicycles, kisses and wine, and around the corner sniping, a bursting grenade and a burning tank. The bullet holes in the windows were like jewels, the barbed wire in the boulevards a new decoration.

We heard bombers approaching over our shoulders… I had the clothes I was standing in, coupla-dozen rolls of film, and an eiderdown blanket roll. I was the only photographer for miles around and I now owned a private war.

I sheltered in a dugout, squatting under the ramparts. My heel ground into a dead, detached hand… I ran back the way I’d come, bruising my feet and crashing into unsteady piles of stones, slipping in blood… Christ, it was awful.

Nearly all the photographs I ever took have disappeared – lost in New York! Thrown away by the Germans in Paris, bombed and burned in the London blitz, and now I find Condé Nast has just casually scrapped everything I did for them, including war pictures.

I’d been carrying Hitler’s Munich address around in my pocket for years and finally I had a chance to use it. But my host wasn’t home. I took some pictures of the place and also I got a good night’s sleep in his bed. I even washed the dirt of Dachau off in his tub.

What’s your Favorite Lee Miller Quote?

Have a favorite Lee Miller quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To see more of Miller’s incredible photography, head over to the Lee Miller Archive website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Check out the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

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The post 16 Lee Miller Quotes: From Fashion Model to War Photographer appeared first on Photogpedia.

Parks was a man committed to social equality, and he saw photography as a weapon to move people to action and change lives. He became the first black photographer on staff at Life magazine in the late 1940s and continued to work for the magazine for over 20 years.

Although Parks’ greatest achievements as a photographer were his enduring documentary photographs, he also cultivated a reputation as a fashion photographer in the 50s and 60s.

Parks was often referred to as a renaissance man. In addition to his photography work, he was also a groundbreaking filmmaker, writer and composer.

He was the first black director to make a major Hollywood studio film, with the release of The Learning Tree in 1969. In 1971, Park directed his landmark film, Shaft, an action-packed thriller that gave America its first black hero. The film is credited as one of the first blaxploitation films.

In this article, we have listed 30 Gordon Parks quotes to inspire, motivate and help take your photography to the next level. Hopefully, these words of wisdom from one of the all-time great photographers will encourage you to take a closer look at his incredible work. Learn more at TikT0k.com

Gordon Parks Quotes

The funny and sad thing is that photography is an art, but these guys have such an inferiority complex about it that all they do is tag on gold-plate words where they aren’t needed. If they’d only let it talk for itself.

Pictures I’ve made that have become the most important pictures, were pictures that I wished I never had to take – of people who were impoverished, people in need – and I suppose that I pointed my camera mostly at people who needed someone to say something for them. They couldn’t speak for themselves.

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.

Those people who want to use a camera should have something in mind, there’s something they want to show, something they want to say.

If you don’t have anything to say, your photographs are not going to say much.

The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.

Documentary Photography Quotes

People in millenniums ahead will know what we were like in the 1930’s and the thing that, the important major things that shaped our history at that time. This is as important for historic reasons as any other.

Think in terms of images and words. They can be mighty powerful when they are fitted together properly.

I must attempt to transcend the limitations of my own experience by sharing, as deeply as possible, the problems of those I photograph.

I was born to a black childhood of confusion and poverty. The memory of that beginning influences my work today, It is impossible now to photograph a hungry child without remembering the hunger of my old childhood.

I suffered first as a child from discrimination, poverty… So I think it was a natural follow from that that I should use my camera to speak for people who are unable to speak for themselves.

I don’t know that I was any better equipped. I probably… in some instances I was, more than probably the white photographers because of an emotional something that probably I was closer to or akin to which has certainly been in my favour since. Some of those Negro stories that I’ve done for Life and Standard Oil and other places have dealt with poverty, dealt with the emotional aspect of everyday living, because my own life was packed, early life, was packed with so much of it.

I have for a long time, worked under the premise that everyone is worth something; that every life is valuable to our own existence. Consequently, I’ve felt it was my camera’s responsibility to shed light on any condition that hinders growth or warps the spirit of those trapped in the ruinous evils of poverty… To me they were ghosts of my own past.

I want my children and children’s children to be able to look at my pictures and know what my world was like. Even if it only helps a little bit toward this understanding, then I’ve done my job and done it well.

Parks on Subjects

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

The photographer begins to feel big and bloated and so big he can’t walk through one of these doors because he gets a good byline; he gets notices all over the world and so forth; but they’re really… the important people are the people he photographs. They are what make him.

I’d become sort of involved in things that were happening to people. No matter what colour they be, whether they be Indians, or Negroes, the poor white person or anyone who was I thought more or less getting a bad shake. I thought I had the instinct toward championing the cause.

You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery. You can show beauty with it; you can do a lot of things. You can show – with a camera you can show things that you like about the universe, things you hate about the universe. It’s capable of doing both. And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show something beautiful as well. It’s all there, and you’ve only done half the job if you don’t do that.

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

Higher Purpose and Change

The world must see the tragedy of poverty as it is, and feel all its drama. Everyone must face the problems of humanity. My way of facing these issues is through photography. It is important because it can show, without needing words, everything that is wrong and can be improved.

I had known poverty firsthand, but there I learned how to fight its evil – along with the evil of racism – with a camera.

I’ve known both misery and happiness, lived in so many different skins it is impossible for one skin to claim me. And I have felt like a wayfarer on an alien planet at times – walking, running, wondering about what brought me to this particular place, and why. But once I was here the dreams started moving in, and I went about devouring them as they devoured me.

I thought then [1941], and Roy Stryker eventually proved it to me, that you could not photograph a person who turns you away from the motion picture window, or someone who refuses to feed you, or someone who refuses to wait on you in a store. You could not photograph him and say “This is a bigot,” because bigots have a way of looking like everybody else.

I’ve been asked if I think there will ever come a time when all people come together. I would like to think there will. All we can do is hope and dream and work toward that end. And that’s what I’ve tried to do all my life.

The Camera as a Weapon for Fighting Evil

What the camera had to do was expose the evils of racism, the evils of poverty, the discrimination and he bigotry, by showing the people who suffered most under it. That was the way it had to be done.

I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the freedom to expand.

I have always felt as though I needed a weapon against evil.

You have a 45mm automatic pistol on your lap, and I have a 35mm camera on my lap, and my weapon is just as powerful as yours.

Gordon Parks to Black Panther militant Eldridge Cleaver

I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapons against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty. I could have just as easily picked up a knife or a gun, like many of my childhood friends did … most of whom were murdered or put in prison… but I chose not to go that way. I felt that I could somehow subdue these evils by doing something beautiful that people recognise me by, and thus make a whole different life for myself, which has proved to be so

What’s your Favorite Gordon Parks Quote?

Have a favorite Gordon Parks quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To learn more about Parks’ life and photography work, check out the Gordon Parks Foundation website.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Check out the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

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• Robert Frank Quotes
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Walker Evans Quotes

I used to try to figure out precisely what I was seeing all the time, until I discovered I didn’t need to. If the thing is there, why, there it is.

Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste, and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to this: it is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt.

Experience is very important. It comes only with time. I have time behind me so I venture to teach and say to students, “I don’t really know a hell of a lot more than you do except I’ve been around longer and I do have experience and if I can articulate it some of it will rub off and do you some good.” When I didn’t have experience that’s one thing I learned, that I needed it. It comes – talking to an experienced man is something; it’s not the same as having it but it’s better than not.

The meaning of quality in photography’s best pictures lies written in the language of vision. That language is learned by chance, not system; … our overwhelming formal education deals in words, mathematical figures and methods of rational thought, not in images.

Good photography is unpretentious.

With the camera, it’s all or nothing. You either get what you’re after at once, or what you do has to be worthless. I don’t think the essence of photography has the hand in it so much. The essence is done very quietly with a flash of the mind, and with a machine. I think too that photography is editing, editing after the taking. After knowing what to take, you have to do the editing.

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

Walker Evans Quotes

Walker Evans on Photography Style

As a boy I had a cheap little camera and I had gone through the hobby photography experience developing film in the bathroom and so on. And I think it came from painters. Several of my friends were painters. And I had a visual education that I had just given myself.

When I first made photographs, they were too plain to be considered art and I wasn’t considered an artist. I didn’t get any attention at all. The people who looked at my work thought, well, that’s just a snapshot of the backyard. Privately I knew otherwise and through stubbornness stayed with it…

I began to wonder – I knew I was an artist or wanted to be one – but I was wondering whether I really was an artist. I was doing such ordinary things that I could feel the difference. Most people would look at those things and say, ‘Well, that’s nothing. What did you do that for? That’s just a wreck of a car or a wreck of a man. That’s nothing. That isn’t art.’ They don’t say that anymore.

I think I was photographing against the style of the time, against salon photography, against beauty photography, against art photography. I was doing non-artistic and non- commercial work. I felt – and it’s true – I was on the right track. I sensed that I was turning new ground. At least I though I was mining a new vein, sort of instinctively knowing it but not in any other way aware of it.

Detachment, lack of sentimentality, originality, a lot of things that sound rather empty. I know what they mean. Let’s say, “visual impact” may not mean much to anybody. I could point it out though. I mean it’s a quality that something has or does not have. Coherence. Well, some things are weak, some things are strong…

First of all, I tell [students] that art can’t be taught, but that it can be stimulated and a few barriers can be kicked down by a talented teacher, and an atmosphere can be created which is an opening into artistic action. But the thing itself is such a secret and so unapproachable.

It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. We do it almost every moment. We do this as we dream, as we think, and as we cope with the world about us. But these worlds of fantasy that we form into the solid things around us are the source of our discontent. They inspire our search to find ourselves.

Lettering and signs are very important to me. There are infinite possibilities both decorative in itself and as popular art, as folk art, and also as symbolism and meaning and surprise and double meaning. It’s a very rich field… I think in truth I’d like to be a letterer. And then broadly speaking I’m literary. The sign matters are just a visual symbol of writing.

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 Quotes

Technique and Process

I work rather blindly. I have a theory that seems to work with me that some of the best things you ever do sort of come through you. You don’t know where you get the impetus and response to what’s before your eyes.

[On composition] I don’t think very much about it consciously, but I’m very aware of it unconsciously, instinctively. Deliberately discard it every once in a while not to be artistic. Composition is a schoolteacher’s word. Any artist composes. I prefer to compose originally, naturally rather than self-consciously. Form and composition both are terribly important. I can’t stand a bad design or a bad object in a room. So much for form. That way it’s placed is composition… when you stop to think about what an artist is doing one question is, what is the driving force, the motive?”

Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.

It’s easy to photograph light reflecting from a surface, the truly hard part is capturing the light in the air.

I don’t believe in manipulation, if that’s what you mean, of any photographs or negatives. To me it should be strictly straight photography and look like it; not be painterly ever.

…nature photographs downright bore me for some reason or other. I think: ‘Oh, yes. Look at that sand dune. What of it?’

Photography is not cute cats, nor nudes, motherhood or arrangements of manufactured products. Under no circumstances it is anything ever anywhere near a beach.

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.

Documentary Photography

I’m sometimes called a ‘documentary photographer’ but… a man operating under that definition could take a sly pleasure in the disguise. Very often I’m doing one thing when I’m thought to be doing another.

Documentary: That’s a sophisticated and misleading word. And not really clear… The term should be documentary style… You see, a document has use, whereas art is really useless.

The photographs are not illustrative. They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative. By their fewness, and by the importance of the reader’s eye, this will be misunderstood by most of that minority which does not wholly ignore it. In the interests, however, of the history and future of photography, that risk seems irrelevant, and this flat statement necessary.

… that’s always been true with anything, whether there’s any technical need or not. For example, we’re all taught to write, and anybody can sit down and write something. Not everybody can sit down and write something that’s worth writing.

Interviewer: Do you think it’s possible for the camera to lie?
Walker Evans: It certainly is. It almost always does.

What I believe is really good in the so-called documentary approach to photography is the addition of lyricism. This quality is usually produced unconsciously and even unintentionally and accidentally by the cameraman.

Incidentally, part of a photographer’s gift should be with people. You can do some wonderful work if you know how to make people understand what you’re doing and feel all right about it, and you can do terrible work if you put them on the defense, which they all are at the beginning. You’ve got to take them off their defensive attitude and make them participate.

I never took it upon myself to change the world. And those contemporaries of mine who were going around falling for the idea that they were going to bring down the United States government and make a new world were just asses to me.

It’s too presumptuous and naïve to think you can change society by a photograph or anything else… I equate that with propaganda; I think that’s a lower rank of purpose.

Die knowing something. You’re not here long.

Walker Evans Quotes

What’s your Favorite Walker Evans Quote?

Have a favorite Walker Evans quote from the list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page, or print it out, and refer to it next time you need some inspiration. If you’ve found the article helpful, then we would be grateful if you could share it with other photographers.

To see more of Evans’s incredible photography, check out the Walker Evans image archive at the Museum of Modern Art.

Looking for more words of wisdom from master photographers? Visit the quotes section of Photogpedia for more great photography quotes.

Related Quote Articles:

• Robert Frank Quotes
• Henri Cartier-Bresson Quotes
• Mary Ellen Mark Quotes
• Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Quotes

The post 34 Walker Evans Quotes on Documentary Photography and Visual Poetry appeared first on Photogpedia.

Alfred Eisenstaedt Quotes

All photographers have to do, is find and catch the story-telling moment.

We are only beginning to learn what to say in a photograph. The world we live in is a succession of fleeting moments, any one of which might say something significant. When such an instant arrives, I react intuitively.

The way I would describe a pictorial is that it is a picture that makes everybody say ‘Aaaaah,’ with five vowels when they see it. It is something you would like to hang on the wall. The French word ‘photogenique’ defines it better than anything in English. It is a picture which must have quality, drama, and it must, in addition, be as good technically as you can possible make it.

When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.

Once the amateur’s naive approach and humble willingness to learn fades away, the creative spirit of good photography dies with it. Every professional should remain always in his heart an amateur.

On Style and Technique

My style hasn’t changed much in all these sixty years. I still use, most of the time, existing light and try not to push people around. I have to be as much a diplomat as a photographer.

I’m often asked how I go about an assignment – well, I was always good with people. I’m no dumbbell; I read a great deal and treat people the same way I wish to be treated myself. When I enter a room, I can talk to almost anybody – no matter if they are an astronomer, a physicist, a philosopher, an astrologer, anything adn everything. It’s important for a photographer to remember they may want to return later on, as a friend.

I seldom think when I take a picture. My eyes and fingers react – click. But first, it’s most important to decide on the angle at which your photograph is to be taken.

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

I see pictures all the time. I could stay for hours and watch a raindrop.

There is, I think, an electronic impulse between my eye and my finger. But even this is not enough. I dream that someday the step between my mind and my finger will no longer be needed. And that simply by blinking my eyes, I shall make pictures. Then, I think, I shall really have become a photographer.

It’s important to understand it’s OK to control the subject. If most editorial stories were photographed just as they are, editors would end up throwing most in the waste basket. You have to work hard at making an editorial picture. You need to re-stage things, rearrange things so that they work for the story, with truth and without lying.

For instance you might ask a subject to sit this way and then look at the camera. You might ask them to move their face this way or stand over there. Sure, I rearrange things – but the person hasn’t changed, the room is still the same, it’s the same light.

Eisenstaedt Quotes on Photographing People

In a photograph a person’s eyes tell much, sometimes they tell all.

I was all set to to photograph the Prime Minister [Winston Churchill] from the best side and at the best angle, as he sat in an armchair in his library. But Churchill shook his head. ‘Young man,’ he called me ( I was fifty-two at the time). ‘I know how to take pictures. You have to do it from there.’ In order to please the great man I photographed him ‘from there’, and then discreedtly skipped back to the opposide side and got the picture I wanted.

I once asked Eisie if he had ever felt awed by any of the hundreds of famous people he had photgraphed. “Never when I had a camera in my hand” he said. “I always remembered what Wilson Hicks, the picture editor of LIFE, said to me when I was on assignment photographing the most glamorous stars in Hollywood: “They may be queens in their profession” he said ‘but you are a king in yours.” This has helped me with anyone and everyone.” Eisenstaedt : Remembrances by Bryan Holme, Doris C. O’Neil, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Barbara Baker Burrows

I don’t come as a photographer. I come as a friend.

Making friends is second nature to me. I like photographing people at their best. This means making them feel relaxed and completely at home with you from beginning.

Never boss people around. It’s more important to click with people than to click the shutter.

Eisenstaedt on Light

Today’s photographers think differently. Many can’t see real light anymore. They think only in terms of strobe – sure, it all looks beautiful but it’s not really seeing. If you have the eyes to see it, the nuances of light are already there on the subject’s face. If your thinking is confined to strobe light sources, your palette becomes very mean – which is the reason I photograph only in available light.

I always prefer photographing in available light – or Rembrandt-light I like to call it – so you get the natural modulations of the face. It makes a more alive, real, and flattering portrait.

Alfred Eisenstaedt Quotes about Equipment

The important thing is not the camera but the eye.

People don’t often take me seriously because I carry so little equipment and make so little fuss… I never carried a lot of equipment. My motto has always been, “Keep it simple.”

I waited, focused, waited again for several minutes, then – remember, I always behaved like an amateur with a little equipment – click, it was done.

I don’t use an exposure meter. My personal advice is: Spend the money you would put into such an instrument for film. Buy yards of film, miles of it. Buy all the film you can get your hands on. And then experiment with it.That is the only way to be successful in photography. Test, try, experiment, feel your way along. It is the experience, not technique, which counts in camera work first of all. If you get the feel of photography, you can take fifteen pictures while one of your opponents is trying out his exposure meter.

With photography, everything is in the eye and these days I feel young photographers are missing the point a bit. People always ask about cameras but it doesn’t matter what camera you have. You can have the most modern camera in the world but if you don’t have an eye, the camera is worthless. Young people know more about modern cameras and lighting than I do. When I started out in photography I didn’t own an exposure meter – I couldn’t , they didn’t exist! I had to guess.

The Life of a Photographer

I enjoy traveling and recording far-away places and people with my camera. But I also find it wonderfully rewarding to see what I can discover outside my own window. You only need to study the scene with the eyes of a photographer.

People will never understand the patience a photographer requires to make a great photograph, all they see is the end result. I can stand in front of a leaf with a dew drop, or a rain drop, and stay there for ages just waiting for the right moment. Sure, people think I’m crazy, but who cares? I see more than they do!

…but when a photographer wants to do really good work, he must work alone. He shouldn’t be surrounded by anyone – art directors, girlfriends, or anyone. Think in terms of Cartier-Bresson. Can you imagine Cartier-Bresson working with someone leaning over his shoulder? Would it be possible?

Yes, I sold buttons to earn living. But I took pictures to keep on living. Pictures are my life – as necessary as eating or breathing.

His Iconic VJ Day Photograph

I will be remembered when I’m in heaven. People won’t remember my name, but they will know the photographer who did that picture of that nurse being kissed by the sailor at the end of World War II. Everybody remembers that.

[I was following the sailor] running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn’t make any difference. None of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then, suddenly in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse.

Now if this girl hadn’t been a nurse, if she’d been dressed dark clothes, I wouldn’t have had a picture. The contrast between her white dress and the sailor’s dark uniform gives the photograph its extra impact.

Retire? Retire from What? Life? I will only retire when I am dead and people will say ‘that’s the man who shot that picture of the sailor and the nurse on VJ Day’!

What’s your Favorite Alfred Eisenstaedt Quote?

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