The idea of an image being worth a thousand words has been around for some time. It was actually coined by a newspaper editor who wanted to place an image on the front page of the paper.
He said that while it may take up text space, a single image is worth a thousand words.
Now, there’s naturally no set value for one picture over another, or one picture over words. However, an image tells a story with one snap of the lens, and there are plenty of photography quotes that go to prove how important and inspirational images are.
THE SCIENCE OF QUOTES AND IMAGES
Photography is so much more than just pulling out a smartphone and snapping a picture. Photography is about capturing a moment in time that will never again happen.
It’s stored, either on film or in digital media, forever. It’s the visual evolution of the mind. Where once only the eyes and the mind could store a visual memory, now in the physical world an image can be captured, reproduced, and put on display.
Some pictures tell stories a person might not want to hear and look at. Others are images that someone can’t turn away from. Photography quotes go right along with that.
Because photography is an art form where photographers talk about their art, their quotes often become poetic at the same time. It’s not that a photographer is looking for a grand meaning to their images and want to elaborate on the visuals.
It’s simply how it comes out.
When discussing art, it’s impossible to not sound like a poet. A poet spends their time writing to connect with your emotions and to paint pictures in your head. A photographer works in reverse.
THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF QUOTES AND IMAGES
If you’re looking to become a photographer, if you enjoy photography, or if you simply like the art form, there is a mental connection with photography quotes and yourself. You can understand every single phrase, line, and quote someone gives.
Whether it’s a professional photographer you’ve heard of or someone you haven’t, their quote psychologically connects with you.
Sometimes it’s important to remind yourself of what photography is all about, especially if you’re a practicing photographer. A simple quote reminding you that a picture should tell a story, or that the less an image shows the more the viewer knows, can stir up emotions and even help you think about how you’ll take pictures in the future.
Due to this, hanging photography quotes up around your house, the office, or even as backdrops on your phone, can help inspire you the next time you’re ready to take pictures. While there are hundreds of photography quotes you can use, here are 10 especially inspirational photography quotes to hang on your wall:
10 INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY QUOTES TO HANG ON YOUR WALL
1. WHEN WORDS BECOME UNCLEAR, I SHALL FOCUS WITH PHOTOGRAPHS. WHEN IMAGES BECOME INADEQUATE, I SHALL BE CONTENT WITH SILENCE. – ANSEL ADAMS
Ansel Adams suggests that there is almost always a time and a place for taking photographs. But if a photograph cannot fully capture the scene or the spectacle, it’s more important to just take it in and let yourself be engulfed by it.
2. PHOTOGRAPHY IS A WAY OF FEELING, OF TOUCHING, OF LOVING. WHAT YOU HAVE CAUGHT ON FILM IS CAPTURED FOREVER… IT REMEMBERS LITTLE THINGS, LONG AFTER YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING. – AARON SISKIND
You will forget much more than you remember. It’s just the way of life. But a photograph can remind you of a feeling, or an emotion, that has long since past.
It’s a little thing, but it gives you back memories; which, in a way, makes it one of the most powerful tools out there.
3. 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
As Don puts it, a photographer shouldn’t be just looking for some great angle or trying to find the next killer shot. It’s all about feeling. It’s about feeling inspired and having a connection with what you’re taking a picture of.
After all, as an artist, if you’re not feeling connected, the audience will never feel connected.
4. TO ME, PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ART OF OBSERVATION. IT’S ABOUT FINDING SOMETHING INTERESTING IN AN ORDINARY PLACE… I’VE FOUND IT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE THINGS YOU SEE AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE WAY YOU SEE THEM. – ELLIOTT ERWITT
Elliott adds to what Don said in the previous photography quote. You’ll feel a connection and you’ll find a little bit of magic in a world that’s ordinary.
Perhaps it’s a small animal in a wide, still landscape that is dancing in the shadows; or it’s a single woman wearing purple as she walks in a group of mourners all wearing black. There’s something interesting there; and yet it also tells a story and forces both you, and the viewer, to ask a question.
5. WHEN I SAY I WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH SOMEONE, WHAT IT REALLY MEANS IS THAT I’D LIKE TO KNOW THEM. ANYONE I KNOW I PHOTOGRAPH. – ANNIE LEIBOVITZ
If you’re a model photographer, it’s not just putting them in front of a backdrop and firing off a few hundred pictures. There’s no connection there, and at that point you’re just going through the motions.
Don’t.
You need to get to know someone through the art. Do you think Leonardo da Vinci went about painting his portraits without knowing his models and without interjecting some of this into the painting? This will help you with your art.
6. MOST THINGS IN LIFE ARE MOMENTS OF PLEASURE AND A LIFETIME OF EMBARRASSMENT; PHOTOGRAPHY IS A MOMENT OF EMBARRASSMENT AND A LIFETIME OF PLEASURE. – TONY BENN
As Tony Benn puts it, a single image is a memory of an important moment, or an embarrassing moment, in your life. While that moment happens in an instant, the photograph is for the rest of a lifetime.
7. PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE STORY I FAIL TO PUT INTO WORDS. – DESTIN SPARKS
This goes right along the old saying of a picture being worth a thousand words. You can’t just explain a photograph in a few words.
With the best photographs, you can’t even describe what it does. You can tell someone what it is, but it doesn’t explain what’s going on or the emotion captured in it.
The best photographs will visually tell a story you’re unable to tell yourself.
8. 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
When you take a portrait, is it the same picture of one person after another? Do you use the same setups and the same lighting? If so, you’re not telling a story.
You’re not letting someone look through a window onto the person. Every model is different.
The portrait needs to open up and show a person: not what they look like, because anyone can do that. It takes talent to show viewers what the person was really like.
9. A TEAR CONTAINS AN OCEAN. A PHOTOGRAPHER IS AWARE OF THE TINY MOMENTS IN A PERSON’S LIFE THAT REVEAL GREATER TRUTHS. – ANONYMOUS
As a photographer, you need to understand the power you have and that a single picture can reveal deep truths about your subject, whatever it is.
10. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHS IS THAT THEY CAPTURE A MOMENT THAT’S GONE FOREVER, IMPOSSIBLE TO REPRODUCE. – KARL LAGEFELD
This cuts down to the beautify of photography. You’re taking a picture of a moment in time that really happened, and it’s a moment in time that will never happen again.
No matter how hard someone might try, it’s not possible to reproduce the moment; which is what makes this such an incredible experience.
CONCLUSION
There is no limit to what photography can do. It is an art form where you get out what you put into it. A single image can tell a story and connect with a viewer emotionally.
You can probably picture several powerful images right now in your mind that have inspired you over the time. Some might be of beautiful scenes; others might be of journalistic nightmares you’d rather not see again.
But with both, there’s a story being told and there’s something going on that has pushed you in the direction of taking pictures just like that. These are just a handful of photography quotes you can hang on your wall and use for inspiration as you move forward and practice your craft.