Quotes about photography

A collection of quotes on the topic of photo, likeness, doing, look.

Best quotes about photography

Brian Selznick photo

“You can make up your own story when you look at a photo.”

Brian Selznick (1966) American children's illustrator and writer

Source: The Invention of Hugo Cabret & Official 'Hugo' Movie Companion

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero photo

“The photo is the most important thing.”

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (1960) Former Prime Minister of Spain

Interview with Mohamed VI in the headquarters of the UN, September 2010.
As President, 2008
Source: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/09/21/espana/1285022449.html

Karl Pilkington photo

“If you had 5 photos of anuses, I could not point mine out”

Karl Pilkington (1972) English television personality, social commentator, actor, author and former radio producer

The Moaning of Life, Karl on Happiness

Marshall McLuhan photo

“Cartoons drove the photo back to myth and dream screen.”

Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …

1970s, Culture Is Our Business (1970)

“This is not a photo opportunity.”

Banksy pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter

Existencilism (2002)

Richard Avedon photo
Sergey Lavrov photo

“I didn’t invite anyone to pose for a photo together with me.”

Sergey Lavrov (1950) Russian politician and Foreign Minister

Said after several G20 representatives refused to join a group photo session together with Lavrov, quoted in "Vladimir Putin lackey Sergey Lavrov storms out of G20 after photo snub" https://nypost.com/2022/07/08/russian-minister-sergey-lavrov-leaves-g20-after-photo-snub/, New York Post, 8 July 2022
About the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022

Quotes about photography

Shigeru Miyamoto photo
Max Lucado photo
Yuvan Shankar Raja photo
Kanye West photo

“That's why I spit it in my songs so sweet
Like a photo of your granny's picture
Now that you're gone it hit us
Super hard on Thankgiving and Christmas, this can't be right”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

Family Business
Lyrics, The College Dropout (2004)

Mike Shinoda photo
Leonardo DiCaprio photo
Dylan Moran photo
Joseph Gordon-Levitt photo
Rick Riordan photo

“When you look like your passport photo, it's time to go home.”

Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent le…

Source: When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home

Cassandra Clare photo
Cassandra Clare photo
Cassandra Clare photo
Jodi Picoult photo
Alice Sebold photo
Darren Shan photo
Charles Bukowski photo
Werner Herzog photo

“If you truly love film, I think the healthiest thing to do is not read books on the subject. I prefer the glossy film magazines with their big colour photos and gossip columns, or the National Enquirer.”

Werner Herzog (1942) German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and opera director

Such vulgarity is healthy and safe.
Herzog on Herzog (2002)

Markus Zusak photo
Gerhard Richter photo
Bret Easton Ellis photo
Annie Proulx photo
Isa Genzken photo
Al Gore photo
Morrissey photo

“If I die, then I die. And if I don’t, then I don’t. Right now I feel good. I am aware that in some of my recent photos I look somewhat unhealthy, but that’s what illness can do. I’m not going to worry about that, I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

Morrissey (1959) English singer

from an interview for El Mundo (2014), regarding the announcement of Morrissey's cancer diagnosis
In interviews etc., About life and death

Daniel Tosh photo
Alfred Stieglitz photo
Max Tegmark photo
Andy Warhol photo
Tim O'Reilly photo
Roger Ebert photo
Helen Garner photo
Gerhard Richter photo
Clay Shirky photo
George Hendrik Breitner photo

“Be so kind and write me by return, with drawing and explanation, how I can make a [photo] camera. - as I then saw at your home. (translation from the original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”

George Hendrik Breitner (1857–1923) Dutch painter and photographer

version in original Dutch (citaat van Breitner's brief, in het Nederlands:) Wees zoo goed en meld me per omgaande, met teekening en uitleg, hoe ik een [foto]-camera kan maken. - zooals ik toen bij jou gezien heb.
Quote of Breitner's letter to his friend H. van der Weele, 14 July 1883 or 1889; as cited by R. Bergsma, & P.H. Hefting, in George Hendrik Breitner 1857-1923, Bussum 1994, p. 21
There are different opinions about the year Breitner started using a photo-camera; they all differ between 1883 and 1889
before 1890

Harry Turtledove photo
Spencer Tunick photo
Tammy Smith photo
Frida Kahlo photo
Charlie Brooker photo
Alex Jones photo
Laurell K. Hamilton photo
W. H. Auden photo
Robert Rauschenberg photo
James Jeans photo
Carol Ann Duffy photo

“Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.”

Carol Ann Duffy (1955) British writer and professor of contemporary poetry

Valentine, from Mean Time (1993).

Gabriele Münter photo
Alison Bechdel photo
Heidi Klum photo

“They're photographs by Adam Fuss. He's an artist. They are beautiful, artistic photos - more silhouettes than anything else. It's not like, "Hey, Mom and Dad are naked, come check it out!" But if I go to the bathroom and my kid walks in, I'm not going to be like, "Oh my God! Close the door!"”

Heidi Klum (1973) German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and actress

They see their parents naked all the time. We are not ashamed.
Admitting that there are nude photographs of herself and Seal hanging in their bedroom and bathroom. Quoted by Jennifer Weiner in InStyle, February 2010.

Isa Genzken photo

“When you say journalist, it's like oh -- how many sources have you fact checked? When you say photographer -- it's, why are your photos a little bit out of focus? The answer is because I don't care. I like to call myself a storyteller so I don't have to worry about other people's definition of what correct work is.”

Brandon Stanton (1984) American photographer

CBS News, 2014; [Blogger makes intimate connections with strangers on streets of NYC, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/humans-of-new-york-blogger-talks-connecting-with-strangers/, CBS NEWS, January 2, 2014, January 6, 2014]

Lila Rose photo
Gerhard Richter photo

“Idiots can do what I do. When I first started to do this [projecting photos on the canvas and painting them after having them traced in details with a piece of charcoal] in the 60's, people laughed. I clearly showed that I painted from photographs. It seemed so juvenile. The provocation was purely formal - that I was making paintings like photographs. Nobody asked about what was in the pictures. Nobody asked who my Aunt Marianne was. That didn't seem to be the point.”

Gerhard Richter (1932) German visual artist, born 1932

Richter's aunt had been murdered by the Nazis in the name of euthanasia, a crime for which his father-in-law from his first marriage, a Nazi doctor named Heinrich Eufinger, had been partially responsible. Richter painted a portrait of his aunt in 1965, based on an old photo. It was called 'Tante Marianne' / 9Aunt Marianne).
after 2000, Gerhard Richter: An Artist Beyond Isms' (2002)

Harry Hill photo
Roger Manganelli photo
Paz de la Huerta photo

“I'm not a model. Whenever I do a photo shoot I like to create a story.”

Paz de la Huerta (1984) American actress

ES Magazine, 13 Jan 2012, pages 26-29

Patrick Stump photo

“I get really annoyed with photo shoots and interviews and handshakes. I’m a musician; God forbid I actually have time to make music.”

Patrick Stump (1984) American musician

Blender Magazine, "Boy Crazy" Article- June, 2006
Source: http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=1927

Tammy Smith photo

“While the [Dept. of Defense] position is that orientation is a private matter, participating with family in traditional ceremonies such as the promotion is both common and expected of a leader. Looking at the photos of Tracey's joy as she pins the star on my shoulder is a memory that will imprint my heart forever. Her support keeps me Army Strong.”

Tammy Smith (1963) United States Army officer

Quoted on Yahoo News, "Meet Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith, the first openly gay U.S. general" http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/meet-brig-gen-tammy-smith-us-first-openly-211521611.html, August 13, 2012.

Prito Reza photo
Scott McClellan photo
Andrew Vachss photo
Ellsworth Kelly photo

“Like the postcard collages, the colors are shapes in a landscape. In this case [his collage 'Napoleon at Würtsburg'] it is a painting of a landscape, not a photo as in the postcards [collages], and therefore a contrast of the traditional painting and a presentation of literal space on top of depicted space.”

Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015) American painter, sculptor, and printmaker

1981 - 2008
Source: 'Kelly in conversation, summers 1985 and 1986'; ed. Diane Upright, "Ellsworth Kelly: Works on Paper", Harry N. Inc., Publishers, New York, in association with the Fort Worth Art Museum, New York, 1987 p. 21

Neil Peart photo

“Masculinity is about posting black and white photos of yourself, shirtless, and wearing face paint on instagram.”

Jack Donovan (1974) American activist, editor and writer

Pg 62
The Way of Men (2012)

Davey Havok photo
Robert Rauschenberg photo
Heidi Klum photo

“I am not that person who walks in a room with my nose in the sky. I smile at people when I meet them, and I like photos of me when I'm smiling because they show my personality. I am always trying to have fun.”

Heidi Klum (1973) German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and actress

Interview by Kate Sullivan for Allure, April 2010

Elizabeth Taylor photo

“Oh God! I'm going to miss him. I can’t yet imagine life without him. But I guess with God’s help… I'll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.”

Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) British-American actress

And, I will love HIM forever.
As quoted in "Michael Jackson: Elizabeth Taylor Honors her good friend" by Dave Karger, Entertainment Weekly (26 June 2009)

Edward Lucie-Smith photo
George Hendrik Breitner photo

“It is not possible to make such things [paintings of street-views] without the help of photos. How do you want me to make an Amsterdam street. I make thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook. if it's possible I make a study from a window. and a sketch for the details after my choice. The composition is mine anyhow.”

George Hendrik Breitner (1857–1923) Dutch painter and photographer

translation from the original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek
version in original Dutch (citaat van Breitner's brief, in het Nederlands:) Het is niet mogelijk dergelijke dingen te maken zonder hulp van photos. Hoe wil je dat ik een Amsterdamsche straat maak. Ik maak krabbeltjes in mijn schetsboek. als het kan een studie uit een raam. en een schets voor de details maar de keus. De compositie is toch van mij.
after 1886; quoted by Van Veen in G.H. Breitner : fotograaf en schilder van het Amsterdamse stadsgezicht', 1997, p. 28-29; as cited in Van IJs naar Sneeuw - De ontwikkeling van het wintergezicht in de 19de eeuw, Arsine Nazarian Juli 2008, Utrecht, p. 85
Breitner defended himself when he was criticized by his art-dealer in using photography for making his paintings
undated quotes

Heidi Klum photo
Johnny Marr photo
Edmund White photo
Doug Stanhope photo
Janeane Garofalo photo

“There's always [on women's magazines] that great photo of the actress or model lifting up her shirt just to show you the bone structure and the six-pack of her own. It's almost like when horses are auctioned and they show you their teeth. 'Am I good enough?”

Janeane Garofalo (1964) comedian, actress, political activist, writer

standup performance (accessible through .WAV files available on the Internet)[citation needed]
Standup routines

Richard Long photo
Marty Feldman photo

“I carry Keaton's photo around with me to remind me what happened to him. If the Hollywood system can destroy him it can destroy me.”

Marty Feldman (1934–1982) British actor and comedian

Marty Feldman - Six Degrees of Separation, BBC4.

Maddox photo
John Mayer photo

“Sheryl's heroes are in black and white photos, and so are mine.”

John Mayer (1977) guitarist and singer/songwriter

Mayer on why he agreed to tour with Sheryl Crow, despite the fact that he considers her more established and successful
Mervis, Scott (2006). "Music Preview: John Mayer takes strides with new record" http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06236/715835-42.stm Post-Gazette.com (accessed August 23, 2006)

Michael McIntyre photo
Edward German photo
Pete Doherty photo
Fernand Léger photo

“There's a tremendous tendency not to make a statement, not to be committed in that ultimate sense. Photo-realism is the same thing as minimal abstraction. Both are unwilling to say anything about the nature of reality, about their own involvement with reality, the evolvement of forms, their expressive…their deepest involvement with human reality.”

Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) American sculptor

Leonard Baskin Interview (1996) Discussing the State of Contemporary Art. in: Don Gray " Art Essays, Art Criticism & Poems http://jessieevans-dongrayart.com/essays/essay028.html" at jessieevans-dongrayart.com