Portrait quotes

When Jack London had his portrait made by the noted San Francisco photographer Arnold Genthe, London began the encounter with effusive praise for the photographic art of his friend and fellow bohemian, Genthe. "you must have a wonderful camera...It must be the best camera in the world...You must show me your camera." Genthe then used his standard studio camera to make what has since become a classic picture of Jack London. When the sitting was finished, Genthe could not contain himself: "I have read your books, Jack, and I think they are important works of art. You must have a wonderful typewriter."

In order to take pleasure in these portraits...it does not seem to be necessary to have known the persons they represent.

Everywhere is something which could be beautiful. You must only to see and to know what and how to take off, to crop from the infinity. Abstract, fine art, nature, landscape and portrait photography.

Portraiture is a window to the soul.

A portrait! What could be more simple and more complex, more obvious and more profound.

Composite portraits are absolute quackery! What next, composite landscapes?

What I look for in pictures I take: eyes, hands, head tilt, body language, background and use of space.

Some of my favorite memories are of people I have photographed.

So many people dislike themselves so thoroughly that they never see any reproduction of themselves that suits. None of us is born with the right face. It’s a tough job being a portrait photographer.

I never made a person look bad. They do that themselves. The portrait is your mirror. It’s you.

A good portrait is incredibly hard to create, there is too much temptation to pander to the individual rather than portray them as they really were.

There is no single form or style of portraiture. Portraiture means individualism and as such means diversity, self-expression, private point of view. The most successful images seem to be those which exist on several planes at once and which reflect the fantasy and understanding of many.

A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed.

A true portrait photographer loves all people because he wants to capture the beauty in every one of them.

Photography is a calling that requires vigilance and alertness for that moment in time that only occurs once.