List of W. Eugene Smith Quotes

The Photographer Must Bear The Responsibility For His Work And Its Effect …[for] Photographic Journalism, Because Of Its Tremendous Audience Reached By Publications Using It, Has More Influence On Public Thinking Than Any Other Branch Of Photography.

My Pictures Are Complex And So Am I. When I Am Almost Symbolistic In Writing, There Is A More Limiting Difference’s Of Accepting, While I Can Be Even More Complex In The Photographs And People Can Usually Accept Them Within The Framework Of Their Own Limitations Or Lack Of Limitations – There Is No Dictionary Meaning… They Can Look Up For The Photographic Image And Allow It To Confuse Them.

I Would That My Photographs Might Be, Not The Coverage Of A News Event, But An Indictment Of War.

My Pictures Are Complex And So Am I.

I Am An Idealist. I Often Feel I Would Like To Be An Artist In An Ivory Tower. Yet It Is Imperative That I Speak To People, So I Must Desert That Ivory Tower. To Do This, I Am A Journalist - A Photojournalist. But I Am Always Torn Between The Attitude Of The Journalist, Who Is A Recorder Of Facts, And The Artist, Who Is Often Necessarily At Odds With The Facts. My Principle Concern Is For Honesty, Above All Honesty With Myself.

Up To And Including The Moment Of Exposure, The Photographer Is Working In An Undeniably Subjective Way. By His Choice Of Technical Approach, By The Selection Of The Subject Matterand By His Decision As To The Exact Cinematic Instant Of Exposure, He Is Blending The Variables Of Interpretation Into An Emotional Whole.

An Artist Must Be Ruthlessly Selfish.

Most Photographers Seem To Operate With A Pane Of Glass Between Themselves And Their Subjects. They Just Can't Get Inside And Know The Subject.

I Would That My Photographs Might Be, Not The Coverage Of A News Event, But An Indictment Of War - The Brutal Corrupting Viciousness Of Its Doing To The Minds And Bodies Of Men; And, That My Photographs Might Be A Powerful Emotional Catalyst To The Reasoning Which Would Help This Vile And Criminal Stupidity From Beginning Again.

Many Claim I Am A Photographer Of Tragedy. In The Greater Sense I Am Not, For Though I Often Photograph Where The Tragic Emotion Is Present, The Result Is Almost Invariably Affirmative.

... To Became Neighbours And Friends Instead Of Journalists. This Is The Way To Make Your Finest Photographs.

The Purpose Of All Art Is To Cause A Deep And Emotion, Also One That Is Entertaining Or Pleasing. Out Of The Depth And Entertainment Comes Value.