1. “ You don’t take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams
This is my #1 favorite photography quote. Many people think that they can just point at a pretty sunset with their phone and have a great photo. But really, it takes work, lots of work, to make a true landscape, or really any kind of photograph.
2. “ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. – Henri Cartier-Bresson
This one turned out to be true for me :) You don't become a great photographer overnight, it takes years of dedication and hard work.
3. “ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy
In my opinion, composition is the #1 most important aspect of photography, and as Matt says, its what makes a good photograph.
4. “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. – Elliott Erwitt
While I don't carry my bulky and heavy DSLR everywhere I go, I usually have my phone with me, sure I might not be able to use the photos from it but I still get the practices of composition and lighting.
5. “ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. – Imogen Cunningham
I love this one, its just so true! As photographers we should always be improving and taking better and better photos every day.
6. “ You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper. – William Albert Allard
Now that everyone has their phone with them all the time, it is becoming more and more difficult to take original photos that people actually want to look at. You really have to work hard to find something original, but it is worth it!
7. “In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality." Alfred Stieglitz
Like Alfred says, sometimes the photographs of the scene become even more beautiful and real than the scene itself. Capturing a moment in time lets you see it long after the original beauty.
8. “ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. – Anonymous
Every photograph should have a clear story behind it, even if its partly up the the viewers imagination.
9. “ Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. – Ansel Adams
Sometimes photographers can get discouraged because they aren't producing very many images.Its encouraging to hear that such an amazing photographer like Ansel Adams only expected one good photograph a month.
10. “It can be a trap of the photographer to think that his or her best pictures were the ones that were hardest to get. – Timothy Allen – On editing photos
Some of my favorite photos were the easy ones to get. A lot of the time people think that it always takes lots and lots of planning for every shot, but sometimes you need to just shoot whatever interest you!
