--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The simple fact is this: There are no…" description: "\"The simple fact is this: There are no neutral photographs.\" — A. D. Coleman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/a-d-coleman-48088_facts_the-simple-fact-is-this-there-are-no-neu_1293611.png" --- # The simple fact is this: There are no neutral photographs. ![“The simple fact is this: There are no neutral photographs.” quote by A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/a-d-coleman-48088_facts_the-simple-fact-is-this-there-are-no-neu_1293611.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/a-d-coleman-48088_facts_the-simple-fact-is-this-there-are-no-neu_1293611.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/a-d-coleman-48088_facts_the-simple-fact-is-this-there-are-no-neu_1293611.png) > “The simple fact is this: There are no neutral photographs.” [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photographs always convey a perspective, never pure objectivity. **In simple terms:** Photos are never neutral. Key Takeaway Recognize bias in images. Themes art perception truth Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - media analysis - journalism - personal reflection Key Concepts subjectivity visual rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How does composition shape your view? - What assumptions do you bring to a photo? A Different Perspective Even with intent, framing influences meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fact Neutral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-neutral-4222133/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Neutral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutral/) [Neutral Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutral-photographs-4222132/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-fact/) ## Related quotes > [Photographs are of course about their makers, and are to be read for what they disclose in that regard no less than for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/photographs-are-of-course-about-their-makers-and-are-to-be-read-for/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [The past is always with us, in the form of our photographs, which we feel as we might a rosary, wearing them smooth with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/the-past-is-always-with-us-in-the-form-of-our-photographs-which-we/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [The photographs that excite me are photographs that say something in a new manner; not for the sake of being different but ones that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-callahan/the-photographs-that-excite-me-are-photographs-that-say-something-in/) [Harry Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-callahan/) > [Authenticity is too big a subject to just toss in with the question about the photographs!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/authenticity-is-too-big-a-subject-to-just-toss-in-with-the-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [To take a photograph is to participate in another person's mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-take-a-photograph-is-to-participate-in-another-person-s-mortality/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'd like the photographs to potentially be meaningful to a wide range of people. They do not grow out of the reportage mode, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbj-rn-r-dland/i-d-like-the-photographs-to-potentially-be-meaningful-to-a-wide-range/) [Torbjørn Rødland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbj-rn-r-dland/) > [Even the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, with all due respect to him, are notoriously burned and dodged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/even-the-photographs-of-henri-cartier-bresson-with-all-due-respect-to/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [My photographs are not pure: they are a seething wealth of imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/my-photographs-are-not-pure-they-are-a-seething-wealth-of-imperfection/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Among the most compelling truths in some of the early photographs is their implication of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/among-the-most-compelling-truths-in-some-of-the-early-photographs-is/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I don't look at other photographs much at all. I don't know why. I study my own a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/i-don-t-look-at-other-photographs-much-at-all-i-don-t-know-why-i/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [I have looked at so many photographs, I can not see them anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/i-have-looked-at-so-many-photographs-i-can-not-see-them-anymore/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) > [My photographs are not just about the instant of movement you capture in the camera. It's much more total, about constant movement that became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-orozco/my-photographs-are-not-just-about-the-instant-of-movement-you-capture/) [Gabriel Orozco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-orozco/) > [I don't really have any faith in anybody enjoying photographs in a large enough sense to matter. I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) ## More by A. D. Coleman > [... the battle for the acceptance of photography as Art was not only counter-productive but counter-revolutionary. The most important photography is most emphatically not Art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/the-battle-for-the-acceptance-of-photography-as-art-was-not-only/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [It is no coincidence that one cardinal rule in brainwashing is to remove from the victim all photographs of himself and people he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/it-is-no-coincidence-that-one-cardinal-rule-in-brainwashing-is-to/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [What a photograph shows us is how a particular thing could be seen, or could be made to look - at a specific moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/what-a-photograph-shows-us-is-how-a-particular-thing-could-be-seen-or/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [The past is always with us, in the form of our photographs, which we feel as we might a rosary, wearing them smooth with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/the-past-is-always-with-us-in-the-form-of-our-photographs-which-we/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [Any photographer worth his/her salt - that is, any photographer of professional caliber, in control of the craft, regardless of imagistic bent - can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/any-photographer-worth-his-her-salt-that-is-any-photographer-of/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [We've spent now about 150 years trying to convince ourselves that photographs are reliable evidence, some unimpeachable slice of the real world. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/we-ve-spent-now-about-150-years-trying-to-convince-ourselves-that/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) > [Photographs are of course about their makers, and are to be read for what they disclose in that regard no less than for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-coleman/photographs-are-of-course-about-their-makers-and-are-to-be-read-for/) [A. D. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) [Explore all 8 A. D. Coleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-coleman/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? 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The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The simple fact is this: There are no neutral photographs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. 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