Learn from the famous photographers and true legends of photography with our practical guide to the six best photography quotes ever uttered and how you can put them into practice.
In the 175 years that photography has been around, some very smart people have picked up cameras, and some of these very smart people have said some very smart things.
Indeed, some photographers, such as Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson, wrote extensively on the theory and practice of photography, and as we'll see, were never short of an illuminating maxim or pithy aphorism.
Other photographers wanted their images to do the talking, and went in for more esoteric observations which we're still puzzling over today.
Anyway, the best quotations about any subject are those which still help and inspire people today, so with this in mind, here are our six favourite photographic quotes – along with some ideas on how you can put these wise words into practice.
SEE MORE: Famous photographers – 100 things we wish we knew starting out
Photography Quote No. 1
Photographer: Robert Capa
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Quote: "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough"
What it means
If you get closer to your subject you will often end up with sharper, better composed shots. By filling the frame, or even cropping in closer, you'll also eliminate dead space, and get a more intimate, involving image.
Don't get so close, though, that you put yourself in danger – war photographer Capa sadly got too close to a landmine while covering the Viet Minh uprising in Vietnam in 1954.
SEE MORE: The 55 best photographers of all time. In the history of the world. Ever.
How to do it yourself
Try using a standard prime lens with a fixed focal length, rather than a long telephoto zoom, as this forces you to get in close to your subject and engage.
Even better, 50mm and 85mm primes usually have wide maximum apertures, which are handy in low light and help to blur the background, while revealing less optical distortion than zooms. They're often great value too.
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