20 Inspiring Photography Quotes
by Bessie Young
There are so many famous photographers throughout history that have provided some amazing images; however, it wasn't just their images that were inspiring... it was their actions, the way that they looked at life, and the way that they spoke about it. Their insights into the creative process have guided generations of photographers and guided the way for how we see photography today.
Many creatives get stuck in a creative void. Their inspiration leaves them one night while they are sleeping. When they wake up... they find a black hole. An empty spot in their mind and belly. Something that could last for days, weeks, or even years. This can be a fear of many creatives. Something that comes naturally to them vanishes at the blink of an eye. We, as creatives, have to feed the fire that burns inside us. If we don't feed it, we end up going a little bit crazy. We lose our sense of being... our sense of life... our sense of value. I have had this happen to me, but luckily it only lasted just a few days. During that time, I felt a little lost. What do I do? Where do I go from here? When I begin to feel this way with photography there are a few things that I do to bring the inspiration, the fire, back:
- I head out into nature
- I schedule a creative shoot
- I review other peoples gorgeous photos (photography forums, facebook groups, and of course Pinterest :)
- I read quotes!
Some of the above ideas are easy to do, but finding inspiring quotes... not so much. I wanted to provide an easy page to provide some inspiration, some quotes that will help you get your creative mind back. It took a bit of research to find inspiring quotes. There are so many quotes out there, but most don't resonate with you. Most are some odd thing that someone said at a moment in their life. But to find a truly inspiring quote can get you back into action. Here are 20 inspiring quotes that I have documented throughout my creative luls:
1. It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter - Alfred Eisenstaedt
2. Wherever there is light, one can photograph - Alfred Stieglitz
3. The best images are the ones that retain their strength and impact over the years, regardless of the number of times they are viewed - Ann Geddes (1956)
4. You don't take a photograph, you make it - Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)
5. There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer - Ansel Adams (1902 - 1984)
6. A good photograph is knowing where to stand - Ansel Adams
7. Photography helps people see - Berenice Abbott (1898-1991)
8. Photography is a love affair with life - Burk Uzzle (1938)
9. Photography for me is not looking, it is feeling. If you can't feel what you are looking at, then you are never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures - Don McCullin (1935)
10. Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still - Dorothea Lange
“One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you’d be stricken blind - Dorothea Lange”
12. A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera - Dorothea Lange
13. A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it - Edward Steichen (1879-1973)
14. There are only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are - Ernst Haas
15. Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I am going to take tomorrow - Imogen Cunningham
“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 - Philip Jones Griffiths”
17. The eye should learn to listen before it looks - Robert Frank (1924)
18. Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future 0 Sally Mann (1951)
19. Only photograph what you love - Tim Walker - 1970
20. When you photograph people in color you photograph their clothes, but when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls - Ted Grant
And one of my absolute all time favorites:
“When you take a photograph of someone, you take a portrait of their soul - Winna Efendi, Refrain”
I hope that some of these quotes inspired you to get back out there and take pictures.
Wishing you nothing but inspiration and creativeness
Bessie
