I realized all of the possibilities that could exist for me with my camera: all of the images that I could capture, all of the lives I could enter, all of the people I could meet and how much I could learn from them.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
I think you reveal yourself by what you choose to photograph, but I prefer photographs that tell more about the subject. There's nothing much interesting to tell about me; what's interesting is the person I'm photographing, and that's what I try to show. [...] I think each photographer has a point of view and a way of looking at the world... that has to do with your subject matter and how you choose to present it. What's interesting is letting people tell you about themselves in the picture.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that photography is more about the subject than the photographer, highlighting the importance of the story behind the image.
Mary Ellen Mark suggests that a photographer's role is to capture the essence and narratives of their subjects rather than focusing on themselves. The quote reflects how the artist's perspective shapes the portrayal of others, and emphasizes the significance of allowing the subjects to express themselves through the photograph, ultimately revealing more about them than the photographer's own identity.
Themes
PhotographySubjectArtNarrativePerspectiveExpression
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a photography workshop to inspire students to focus on their subjects.
More from Mary Ellen Mark
All quotes βI think you have to have a real point of view that's your own. You have to tell it your way. And, I think that it's a mistake to shoot for a specific magazine's point of view because it's never going to be as good. You have to shoot for yourself and photograph [ the way] you believe it.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
As a kid, I used to dream about airplanes before I ever flew in one. I really knew, when I started photographing, I wanted it to be a way of knowing different cultures, not just in other countries but in this country, too, and I knew I wanted to enter other lives. I knew I wanted to be a voyeur.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
I could spend my whole life photographing circuses. They combine everything I'm interested in - they're ironic, poetic, and corny at the same time. There's also something about a circus that's magical, sentimental, and almost tragic, like a Fellini film.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
I want my photographs not only to be real but to portray the essence of my subjects also. In order to do that, you have to be patient.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
I saw that my camera gave me a sense of connection with others that I never had before. It allowed me to enter lives, satisfying a curiosity that was always there but that was never explored before.
Mary Ellen MarkRead
Similar quotes
Writers are lucky. Whatever the mood, no matter the longing, the writer can use his words to connect himself to any world he wishes to visit.
Alan ZweibelRead
There is something about giving everything to your profession. In Italian, an obsession is not necessarily negative. It's the art of putting all your energy into one thing; it's the art of transforming even what you eat for lunch into architecture.
Renzo PianoRead
I always wrote. I wrote every day. I don't think I could have written 'Just Kids' had I not spent all of the '80s developing my craft as a writer.
Patti SmithRead
I deliberately disregarded the right angle and rationalist architecture designed with ruler and square to boldly enter the world of curves and straight lines offered by reinforced concrete... This deliberate protest arose from the environment in which I lived, with its white beaches, its huge mountains, its old baroque churches, and the beautiful suntanned women.
Oscar NiemeyerRead
I do not believe in the art which is not the compulsive result of man's urge to open his heart
Edvard MunchRead
Cinema is not a series of abstract ideas, but rather the phrasing of moments.
Jean-Luc GodardRead