40 Most Inspirational Photography Quotes for Photographers
Famous photographers in history are known for their timeless photos. Not only that, their creative photography methods and concepts have also inspired many generations of photographers, contributing significantly to shaping today's photography style.
Here are 40 of the most inspirational photography quotes from photographers around the world, from all countries, all fields, both deceased and current young generations. Hope these quotes will prove to you why photography is a true art form and a powerful medium of connection.
1. “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898 – 1995) - German photographer famous for the photo “The Kiss on Times Square” on the day of Japan's surrender, marking the end of World War II in 1945.
2. “In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality” - Alfred Stieglitz (1864 – 1946) - American photographer recognized by the world as one of the pioneers of modern photography.
3. “I think that emotional content is an image’s most important element, regardless of the photographic technique. Much of the work I see these days lacks the emotional impact to draw a reaction from viewers, or remain in their hearts.” - Anne Geddes (1956) - a photographer famous for her unique and stylish photos of babies.
4. “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” – Ansel Adams
5. "I like photographs that leave something to the imagination." – Fay Goodwin
6. "A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words." – Ansel Adams
7. “The camera makes you forget you're there. It's not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.”. - Annie Leibovitz (1949) - an American portrait photographer with 10 years of experience as head of the photo department of Rolling Stone magazine.
8. “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” - Ansel Adams (1902 – 1984) - one of the famous landscape photographers with valuable photos known worldwide.
9. “In photography there are no shadows that cannot be illuminated”. - August Sander (1876 – 1964) - German photographer specializing in portraits and documentary photography. He is considered one of the most important German photographers of the 20th century.
10. “Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past”. - Berenice Abbott (1898 – 1991) - American photographer with 60 years of experience and known as an expert in black and white architectural photos of New York City (USA).
11. “A landscape image cuts across all political and national boundaries, it transcends the constraints of language and culture.” - Charlie Waite (1949) - British award-winning landscape photographer. His photos are famous for using contrasts between light and shade to create impressive lines that are as beautiful as paintings.
12. “A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know.” - Diane Arbus (1923 – 1971) - documentary photographer famous for taking photos of people who are rarely noticed (oversized, tiny, ugly people...).
13. “Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” - Don McCullin (1935) - documentary photographer famous for his war photos as well as photos of changing urban life.
14. “To know ahead of time what you’re looking for means you’re then only photographing your own preconceptions, which is very limiting, and often false.” - Dorothea Lange (1895 – 1965) - a famous photojournalist for her photos taken during the Great Depression in the United States in 1929 – 1930, which began after the collapse of the Wall Street stock market.
15. “Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.” - Edward Weston (1886 – 1958) - one of the most influential American photographers of the 20th century. He mainly took pictures of landscapes and daily life in the American West.
16. “I like to photograph anyone before they know what their best angles are.” - Ellen Von Unwerth (1954) - famous for her bold and provocative fashion photographs for famous fashion magazines such as Vogue.
17. “It's about reacting to what you see, hopefully without preconception. You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. You just have to care about what's around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy." - Elliott Erwitt (1928) - a master of capturing decisive moments. His street photos often have a touching charm.
18. "I am not interested in shooting new things - I am interested to see things new." - Ernst Haas (1921 - 1986) - one of the pioneers in using color photography. He was the President of the international photography organization Magnum Photos and also published one of the most successful photo books The Creation in 1971 with over 350,000 copies.
19. “If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.” - Eve Arnold (1912 – 2012) - an award-winning photojournalist, a member of the Magnum Photos Organization and published 12 photo books in her career.
20. “My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.” - Helmut Newton (1920 – 2004): Newton’s captivating fashion photographs still have a great influence on photography today.
21. “To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye, and one's heart on the same axis.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004) - one of the greatest photographers of all time. He is also considered the father of photojournalism.
22. “Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow” - Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976) - Cunningham's works are truly thoughts and experiences ahead of their time. Besides, she also took works related to flowers, portraits or nudes.
23. “Don't pack up your camera until you've left the location.” - Joe McNally (1952) - famous photographer with works in National Geographic and photos of New York after 9/11.
24. “Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.” - Man Ray (1890 – 1976) - a portrait and fashion photographer and also a supporter of the Surrealist art school. He is known for pioneering photographic genres, such as the Photogram genre, which is a genre that does not use a camera but uses objects placed directly on photographic paper to expose, creating images.
25. “With photography, I like to create a fiction out of reality. I try and do this by taking society's natural prejudice and giving this a twist.” - Martin Parr (1952) - Parr's documentary photos often tell humorous moments of everyday British life. He deserves to be called “the chronicler of the age”.
26. “It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” - Paul Caponigro (1932) - a leading American landscape photographer.
27. “… We are there with our cameras to record reality. Once we start modifying that which exists, we are robbing photography of its most valuable attribute.” - Philip Jones Griffiths (1936 – 2008) - Welsh photojournalist. He is famous for his works on the Vietnam War.
28. “There's a time when people say your work is revolutionary, but you have to keep being revolutionary. I can't keep shooting pop stars all my life. You have to keep changing, keep pushing yourself, looking for the new, the unusual.” - Rankin (1966) - British fashion and portrait photographer, known for his widely used works in the mass media.
29. “If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” - Robert Capa (1913 – 1954) - Hungarian photojournalist and known for his war work. He is best known for his work capturing important events during World War II.
30. “The eye should learn to listen before it looks.” - Robert Frank (1924) - known for his influential book The Americans, which offered a new perspective on American society.
31. “The more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.” - Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 – 1989) - American photographer known for his large format photographs. His gay portraits are also the subject of much controversy to this day.
32. “Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” - Sally Mann (1951) - American photographer known for her black and white photography covering a wide range of subjects, including portraits and landscapes.
33. “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.” - W Eugene Smith (1918 – 1978) - best known for his World War II photographs.
34. “… the kind of photography that I am interested in is much closer to writing than to painting. Because making a photograph is rather like writing a paragraph or a short piece, and putting together a whole string of photographs is like producing a piece of writing in many ways. There is the possibility of making coherent statements in an interesting, subtle, complex way.” - David Goldblatt
35. “Photography is a response that has to do with the momentary recognition of things. Suddenly you're alive. A minute later there was nothing there. I just watched it evaporate. You look one moment and there's everything, next moment it's gone. Photography is very philosophical.” - Joel Meyerowitz - American street, portrait and landscape photographer
36. “Photographing a cake can be art.” - Irving Penn
37. “You can’t teach people photography, they’ve got to learn how to do it the best way possible for them. They can learn from looking at pictures taken by well-known people, but they don’t really get intimate with the medium until they’ve made a few bad shots!” - Cecil Beaton
38. “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.” - Andre Kertesz - born Andor Kertész, was a Hungarian-born photographer
39. “A lot of people seem to think that art or photography is about the way things look, or the surface of things. That's not what it's about for me. It's really about relationships and feelings...it's really hard for me to do commercial work because people kind of want me to do a Nan Goldin. They don't understand that it's not about a style or a look or a setup. It's about emotional obsession and empathy.” - Nan Goldin - an American photographer
40. "If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that's a good picture." - Eddie Adams -winner photography of the Pulitzer Prize
Conclusion
Photography is a journey of creativity, passion, and endless learning. The wisdom shared in these 40 inspirational quotes reminds us that photography goes beyond technical skills — it’s about perspective, emotion, and storytelling.
Keep shooting, keep learning, and most importantly, keep finding inspiration in every frame.