I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my wife and children.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the idea that artistry can be a means to support one's family.
Irving Penn highlights the connection between his profession as a photographer and his responsibility as a provider for his family. Through his craft, he not only pursues his passion for photography but also ensures the financial support needed to raise and take care of his wife and children, emphasizing the role of art as a practical means to fulfill family obligations.
In practice
During a speech at a photography seminar, I could use this quote to highlight the balance between artistry and providing for loved ones.
Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the world very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.
I've tried a few times to depart from what I know I can do, and I've failed. I've tried to work outside the studio, but it introduces too many variables that I can't control. I'm really quite narrow, you know.
I can get obsessed by anything if i look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer.
Most every book I bring into the world is like birthing a baby; it's a lot of effort!
I love films that make you feel something but also deliver that payload behind jokes.
I try all night to play a pretty note.
I feel like for me to write songs that I would be interested in as a listener, there has to be tension, and there has to be some kind of push and pull between reality and the potential of disaster.
When I write in Italian - this is just the metaphor that came to me immediately, and I really think this is what it is - I feel like I'm writing with my left hand. Because of that weakness, there is this enormous freedom that comes with it.
Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule. Nevertheless one had better know the rules, for they sometimes guide in doubtful cases, though not often.
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