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!
W. Eugene SmithRead
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 matterand by his decision as to the exact cinematic instant of exposure, he is blending the variables of interpretation into an emotional whole.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Photography is an artistic interpretation shaped by personal choices and emotional insights.
This quote emphasizes the subjective nature of photography, highlighting how a photographer's decisions—ranging from technical aspects to subject selection—contribute to the emotional impact of the final image. It suggests that every photograph is not just a capture of reality but a blend of personal interpretation and emotion, where every choice made by the photographer influences how the viewer perceives the image.
Themes
PhotographySubjectivityEmotionInterpretationArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a photography class when discussing creative techniques.
More from W. Eugene Smith
All quotes →I've never made any picture, good or bad, without paying for it in emotional turmoil.
W. Eugene SmithRead
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.
W. Eugene SmithRead
I try to take what voice I have and I give it to those who don’t have one at all.
W. Eugene SmithRead
The photographer must bear the responsibility for his work and its effect …[for] photographic journalism, because of its tremendous audience reached by publications using it, has more influence on public thinking than any other branch of photography.
W. Eugene SmithRead
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.
W. Eugene SmithRead
Similar quotes
Art invites us to know beauty and to solicit it, summon it, from even the most tragic of circumstances.
Toni MorrisonRead
I've always believed in writing without a collaborator, because where two people are writing the same book, each believes he gets all the worry and only half the royalties.
Agatha ChristieRead
A story is like something you wind out of yourself. Like a spider, it is a web you weave, and you love your story like a child.
Katherine Anne PorterRead
It's the duty of art to ask questions, not to provide answers. And if you want a clearer answer, I'll have to pass.
Michael HanekeRead
Cooking is just a vehicle to express yourself, like painting and acting... The reason why we're cooking is not because we want to put something on the plate. It's so much more complex than that.
Dominique CrennRead
It's evening, one of those gray water-color washes, like liquid dust.
Margaret AtwoodRead