--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great photograph is a full expression…" description: "\"“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg" --- # A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels… ![“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” quote by Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg) > ““A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.”” [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A photograph captures the photographer’s deepest emotions, revealing a universal truth about life. **In simple terms:** Photos reflect the photographer’s feelings and convey life’s meaning. Key Takeaway Use photography to express inner truth. Themes art emotion perception Mood inspirational thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - portrait sessions - documentary projects - personal journaling - exhibitions Key Concepts visual storytelling subjectivity philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you want your images to evoke? - How can you align technique with feeling? A Different Perspective Interpretation varies; viewers may miss the intended depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Self expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-expression/) ## Related quotes > [A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-expresses-what-one-feels-in-the/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [A great photograph needs no explanation; it functions by suggestion. There is no need to be explicit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/a-great-photograph-needs-no-explanation-it-functions-by-suggestion/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [People will never understand the patience a photographer requires to make a great photograph, all they see is the end result. I can stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/people-will-never-understand-the-patience-a-photographer-requires-to/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [And that desire-the strong desire to take pictures-is important. It borders on a need, based on a habit: the habit of seeing. Whether working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/and-that-desire-the-strong-desire-to-take-pictures-is-important-it/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [If you scratch a great photograph, you find two things; a painting and a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/if-you-scratch-a-great-photograph-you-find-two-things-a-painting-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [My first reaction to finding Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty in a book was, Wow, what a great photograph! I could not believe that someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-muniz/my-first-reaction-to-finding-robert-smithson-s-spiral-jetty-in-a-book/) [Vik Muniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-muniz/) > [But I always liked the fact that you get these totally unacceptable images, but they're taken by a really expensive photographer, with great light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/but-i-always-liked-the-fact-that-you-get-these-totally-unacceptable/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/no-man-has-the-right-to-dictate-what-other-men-should-perceive-create/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-hope-that-my-work-will-encourage-self-expression-in-others-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-photograph-truthfully-and-effectively-is-to-see-beneath-the/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Photograph not only what you see but also what you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/photograph-not-only-what-you-see-but-also-what-you-feel/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To the vast majority of people a photograph is an image of something within their direct experience: a more-or-less factual reality. It is difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-the-vast-majority-of-people-a-photograph-is-an-image-of-something/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term-meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-have-often-thought-that-if-photography-were-difficult-in-the-true/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/it-is-easy-to-take-a-photograph-but-it-is-harder-to-make-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## More by Ansel Adams > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/it-is-easy-to-take-a-photograph-but-it-is-harder-to-make-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Black and white photography is truly quite a 'departure from reality', and the transition from one aspect of visual magic to another was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/black-and-white-photography-is-truly-quite-a-departure-from-reality/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Wilderness is rapidly becoming one of those aspects of the American dream which is more of the past than of the present. Wilderness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/wilderness-is-rapidly-becoming-one-of-those-aspects-of-the-american/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/the-single-most-important-component-of-a-camera-is-the-twelve-inches/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [We make images to "honor what is greater and more interesting than we are."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/we-make-images-to-honor-what-is-greater-and-more-interesting-than-we/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Photographers and artists contribute a lot to the world and have a right to exist in relative security and comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/photographers-and-artists-contribute-a-lot-to-the-world-and-have-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/there-are-worlds-of-experience-beyond-the-world-of-the-aggressive-man/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term-meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-have-often-thought-that-if-photography-were-difficult-in-the-true/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/yosemite-valley-to-me-is-always-a-sunrise-a-glitter-of-green-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To visualize an image (in whole or in part) is to see clearly in the mind prior to exposure, a continuous projection from composing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-visualize-an-image-in-whole-or-in-part-is-to-see-clearly-in-the/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To the vast majority of people a photograph is an image of something within their direct experience: a more-or-less factual reality. It is difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-the-vast-majority-of-people-a-photograph-is-an-image-of-something/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Photograph not only what you see but also what you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/photograph-not-only-what-you-see-but-also-what-you-feel/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-photograph-truthfully-and-effectively-is-to-see-beneath-the/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [ The \[35mm\] camera is for life and for people, the swift and intense moments of life. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/the-35mm-camera-is-for-life-and-for-people-the-swift-and-intense/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) [Explore all 154 Ansel Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ansel Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/ansel-adams-2687_art_a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression_371527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest…” — Ansel Adams", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ansel Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A great photograph is a full...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```