--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, what was important was to record…" description: "\"For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photogra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/alfredo-jaar-30663_cameras_for-me-what-was-important-was-to-record_2151681.jpg" --- # For me, what was important was to record everything I saw… ![“For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photograph is a picture that comes as close as possible to reality. But the camera never manages to record what your eyes see, or what you feel at the…” quote by Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/alfredo-jaar-30663_cameras_for-me-what-was-important-was-to-record_2151681.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/alfredo-jaar-30663_cameras_for-me-what-was-important-was-to-record_2151681.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/alfredo-jaar-30663_cameras_for-me-what-was-important-was-to-record_2151681.jpg) > “For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photograph is a picture that comes as close as possible to reality. But the camera never manages to record what your eyes see, or what you feel at the moment. The camera always creates a new reality.” [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote stresses that photographs, despite aiming for realism, inevitably become a new reality because they cannot fully capture human perception or emotion. **In simple terms:** Photos are never exact copies of what we see or feel. Key Takeaway Accept the limits of visual representation. Themes photography perception reality artistic interpretation Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - photojournalism - exhibitions - personal archives - educational workshops Key Concepts subjectivity visual mediation truth construction Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance factual recording with personal perspective? - Can a photograph ever be truly objective? A Different Perspective Even systematic documentation cannot fully convey the photographer’s inner experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [The camera creates a magical transformation. It's not enough to exist; we must chronicle that existence. ... Narrative- and image-making creatures like humans don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-camera-creates-a-magical-transformation-it-s-not-enough-to-exist/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [PHOTOGRAPH, n. A picture painted by the sun without instruction in art. It is a little better than the work of an Apache, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/photograph-n-a-picture-painted-by-the-sun-without-instruction-in-art/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-good-photograph-is-not-the-object-the-consequences-of-the/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I'm quite taken aback when I get something that appears to be technically a good photograph, because it's not necessarily my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-m-quite-taken-aback-when-i-get-something-that-appears-to-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I have been a photographer all my life…and have made photographs of many things and for many reasons. But one thing that becomes more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/i-have-been-a-photographer-all-my-life-and-have-made-photographs-of/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [A good photograph is like a good hound dog, dumb, but eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-atget/a-good-photograph-is-like-a-good-hound-dog-dumb-but-eloquent/) Eugene Atget > [A good photograph will prove to the viewer how little our eyes permit us to see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-levinstein/a-good-photograph-will-prove-to-the-viewer-how-little-our-eyes-permit/) Leon Levinstein > [The photograph... is not a picture of something, but is an object about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heinecken/the-photograph-is-not-a-picture-of-something-but-is-an-object-about/) [Robert Heinecken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heinecken/) > [Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/photograph-a-picture-painted-by-the-sun-without-instruction-in-art/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [We regard the photograph, the picture on our wall, as the object itself (the man, landscape, and so on) depicted there. This need not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/we-regard-the-photograph-the-picture-on-our-wall-as-the-object-itself/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [A photograph is a photograph, a picture, an image, an illusion complete within itself, depending neither on words, reproductive processes or anything else for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-decarava/a-photograph-is-a-photograph-a-picture-an-image-an-illusion-complete/) [Roy DeCarava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-decarava/) > [I probably get a deeper satisfaction of having taken a very good photograph than of having written something very good, a very good story.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-probably-get-a-deeper-satisfaction-of-having-taken-a-very-good/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [A good photograph will prove to the viewer how little our eyes permit us to see. Most people, really, don’t see-see only what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-levinstein/a-good-photograph-will-prove-to-the-viewer-how-little-our-eyes-permit-2/) Leon Levinstein > [“What do we feel when we look at a good photograph? We just want to be there, right at the exact moment that photo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-do-we-feel-when-we-look-at-a-good-photograph-we-just-want-to-be/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Alfredo Jaar > [ I follow many tragedies around the world. At one point I \[will\] feel like I've accumulated an enormous amount of information, a critical mass… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/i-follow-many-tragedies-around-the-world-at-one-point-i-will-feel/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [America is our continent. You feel in the daily language that Americans use the word "America" to erase the rest of the continent from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/america-is-our-continent-you-feel-in-the-daily-language-that/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [Certainly when you do a work for a public space, you lose control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/certainly-when-you-do-a-work-for-a-public-space-you-lose-control/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [I remember her eyes. The eyes of Gutete Emerita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/i-remember-her-eyes-the-eyes-of-gutete-emerita/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [I think that all art is socially conscious. There is no alternative. Whatever we produce contains a political and social statement. There's no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/i-think-that-all-art-is-socially-conscious-there-is-no-alternative/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [How many languages do we really speak?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/how-many-languages-do-we-really-speak/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [Nowadays I see my work being used, without my permission, as if it was an attack against the Trump regime. People want to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/nowadays-i-see-my-work-being-used-without-my-permission-as-if-it-was/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [I think I'm a journalist in one sense - I want to communicate to people about certain things that are happening around us, around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/i-think-i-m-a-journalist-in-one-sense-i-want-to-communicate-to-people/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [We are the result of the stimulus we receive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/we-are-the-result-of-the-stimulus-we-receive/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [As we all know, the objective and mission of the photojournalist is to show us the reality of the world. And in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/as-we-all-know-the-objective-and-mission-of-the-photojournalist-is-to/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [Reality cannot be photographed or represented. We can only create a new reality. And my dilemma is how to make art out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/reality-cannot-be-photographed-or-represented-we-can-only-create-a/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [Journalistic information and presentation actually discourage action... we think we know, and because we think we know, we think we care. But it stops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/journalistic-information-and-presentation-actually-discourage-action/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [My work is always based on reality. I'm not an artist that creates works of fiction. I'm not an artist who is in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/my-work-is-always-based-on-reality-i-m-not-an-artist-that-creates/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [Images have an advanced religion; they bury history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/images-have-an-advanced-religion-they-bury-history/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) > [I am suspicious and disillusioned about the uses and misuses of photography in the art world, the press, and the world of entertainment. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-jaar/i-am-suspicious-and-disillusioned-about-the-uses-and-misuses-of/) [Alfredo Jaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) [Explore all 17 Alfredo Jaar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfredo-jaar/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [When I made my debut as an actor in 'Rock On!' I was confident to get in front of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/when-i-made-my-debut-as-an-actor-in-rock-on-i-was-confident-to-get-in/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) Mitra Farahani > [To be honest, I don't know... something about the camera like turns me into such a diva. Like when it's on and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/to-be-honest-i-don-t-know-something-about-the-camera-like-turns-me/) [Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/) > [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“A camera is an opening in a box: that is the best emblem of the fact that a camera holding an object is holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/a-camera-is-an-opening-in-a-box-that-is-the-best-emblem-of-the-fact/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [It's such a weird thing, because you have a whole crew of people standing over there, on the other side. There's a camera pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-such-a-weird-thing-because-you-have-a-whole-crew-of-people/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [“The camera lets me see things in a different way. It's like I finally have perspective. I can't always say stuff right in words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/the-camera-lets-me-see-things-in-a-different-way-it-s-like-i-finally/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I was so green, and my background was mostly in theater. The only thing I'd done in front of a camera, besides an infomercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-was-so-green-and-my-background-was-mostly-in-theater-the-only-thing/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [As far as lighting and blocking, camera angles and facial expressions, all that stuff that has to be very specific in film, as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/as-far-as-lighting-and-blocking-camera-angles-and-facial-expressions/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to move the camera that much anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/i-don-t-like-to-move-the-camera-that-much-anyway/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [I feel like 'Preacher's Daughter' was my Trojan horse, in a way. I'm excited to pull back, be behind the camera instead of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-feel-like-preacher-s-daughter-was-my-trojan-horse-in-a-way-i-m/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) [Browse all 2,026 Camera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photograph is a picture that comes as close as possible to reality. But the camera never manages to record what your eyes see, or what you feel at the moment. 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