Philippe Halsman

I am often asked which picture is my favorite. This is like asking a mother which child she likes the most.

— Philippe Halsman

The head of the photographer is more important than his camera

— Philippe Halsman

I make the woman look at the camera as a symbol of all the eyes that will see the picture I am…

— Philippe Halsman

When the photographer Philippe Halsman said, 'Jump,' no one asked how high. People simply pushed off or leapt up to the extent…

— Philippe Halsman

The immortal photographers will be straightforward photographers, those who do not rely on tricks or special techniques.

— Philippe Halsman

When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so…

— Philippe Halsman

The word “photography” can be interpreted as “writing with light” or “drawing with light.” Some photographers are producing beautiful photographs by drawing…

— Philippe Halsman

[Revealing character] can't be done by pushing the person into position or arranging his head at a certain angle. It must be…

— Philippe Halsman

Most people stiffen with self-consciousness when they pose for a photograph. Lighting and fine camera equipment are useless if the photographer cannot…

— Philippe Halsman

In a jump, the subject, in a sudden burst of energy, overcomes gravity. He cannot simultaneously control his expressions, his facial and…

— Philippe Halsman

Of the thousands of people, celebrated and unknown, who have sat before my camera, I am often asked who was the most…

— Philippe Halsman

Marilyn was history's most phenomenal love goddess.

— Philippe Halsman

A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of…

— Philippe Halsman

With a woman I try to photograph her beauty; with a man I try to show his character. Once I photographed a…

— Philippe Halsman

In my serious work I am striving for the essence of things and for goals which are possibly unobtainable. On the other…

— Philippe Halsman

Dali likes me taking his picture because he is interested in pictures that do not simply reproduce reality. Even in photos he…

— Philippe Halsman

I try to photograph her beauty; with a man I try to show his character. Once I photographed a man with a…

— Philippe Halsman

I know of few actresses who have this incredible talent for communicating with a camera lens. She would try to seduce a…

— Philippe Halsman

No photographer should be blamed when, instead of capturing reality, he tries to show things he has seen only in his imagination.…

— Philippe Halsman

This fascination with the human face has never left me... Every face I see seems to hide and sometimes, fleetingly, to reveal…

— Philippe Halsman

I drifted into photography like one drifts into prostitution. First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please…

— Philippe Halsman

A good portrait is incredibly hard to create, there is too much temptation to pander to the individual rather than portray them…

— Philippe Halsman

Herein lies the main objective of portraiture and also its main difficulty. The photographer probes for the innermost. The lens sees only…

— Philippe Halsman