---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great photograph is one that fully…"
description: "\"A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.\" — Ansel Adams"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg"
---

#  A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one…

![“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” quote by Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg)

> “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

[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 great photograph captures the photographer’s deepest emotions about the subject, conveying them to the viewer.

**In simple terms:** Photos should convey deep feeling.

Key Takeaway

Create images that express your inner response.

Themes

photography emotion expression artistic vision

Mood

inspirational contemplative

Type

artistic educational

When to use this quote

- portrait sessions
- landscape shoots
- exhibitions
- gallery displays

Key Concepts

visual storytelling subjectivity aesthetic theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What feeling do you want your photo to evoke?
- How can you translate inner emotion into visual form?

A Different Perspective

Technical skill alone may not convey feeling without emotional intent.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/)

## Related quotes

> [“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/)

[Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/)

> [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 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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

## 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/)

> [“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels-about-what/)

[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/)

[Explore all 154 Ansel Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/)

## More Feels quotes

> [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/)

[Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/)

> [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/)

> [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/)

[Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/)

> [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [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/)

> [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/)

[Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/)

> [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/)

[Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/)

> [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/)

[Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/)

> [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/)

[Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

Browse all 38,933 Feels quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ansel Adams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-expresses-what-one-feels-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Feels"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-expresses-what-one-feels-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc7/ansel-adams-2687_feels_a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-exp_1652411.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being…” — 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 one that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-expresses-what-one-feels-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-one-that-fully-expresses-what-one-feels-in-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
