--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason I call myself a documentary…" description: "\"The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate in history.\" — Catherine Opie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg" --- # The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the… ![“The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate in history.” quote by Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg) > “The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate in history.” [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photographs act as both records and participants in shaping historical narratives. **In simple terms:** Photos record and influence history. Key Takeaway Use photography to document and reflect on events. Themes history photography memory Mood reflective thoughtful Type documentary inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - archival projects - educational exhibits - personal storytelling Key Concepts visual culture documentary practice Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to capture? - What responsibility do you feel as a visual historian? A Different Perspective Photos can be selective, shaping memory rather than preserving it fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [I suppose the primary intention of a documentary photographer is to document facts. My work often does this but it is not the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-billingham/i-suppose-the-primary-intention-of-a-documentary-photographer-is-to/) Richard Billingham > [In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a photographer who has a distinct style. My photographs are a companion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/in-a-way-my-work-is-documentary-but-i-am-also-a-photographer-who-has/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [...I don't see myself as a documentary photographer. I am more drawn to the image itself, rather than to the description of a scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beat-streuli/i-don-t-see-myself-as-a-documentary-photographer-i-am-more-drawn-to/) Beat Streuli > [I've been a documentary photographer for much longer than I have been a filmmaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-greenfield/i-ve-been-a-documentary-photographer-for-much-longer-than-i-have-been/) [Lauren Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-greenfield/) > [I'm sometimes called a 'documentary photographer' but... a man operating under that definition could take a sly pleasure in the disguise. Very often I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-m-sometimes-called-a-documentary-photographer-but-a-man-operating/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [ \[In the late 80's\] that's the first time I heard about that astonishing idea \[that most photographs would be taken on telephones\]. And now… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/in-the-late-80-s-that-s-the-first-time-i-heard-about-that-astonishing/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I'm kind of a twisted social documentary photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-kind-of-a-twisted-social-documentary-photographer/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [The documentary photographer aims his camera at the real world to record truthfulness. At the same time, he must strive for form, to devise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strand/the-documentary-photographer-aims-his-camera-at-the-real-world-to/) [Paul Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strand/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [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/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) ## More by Catherine Opie > [I really love to drive. It's really hard for me to be a passenger, even though I get to look around a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-really-love-to-drive-it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-be-a-passenger-even/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [...things become mainstream when they become imaged over and over again. Something happens in relationship to ideas of representation that makes it more palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/things-become-mainstream-when-they-become-imaged-over-and-over-again/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I do photograph things for people to look at 100 years from now. But we're such a mediated society that things become historical the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-do-photograph-things-for-people-to-look-at-100-years-from-now-but/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I tried to get as far away from home as possible after I graduated from high school because I had a hard time being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-tried-to-get-as-far-away-from-home-as-possible-after-i-graduated/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I like that time is marked by each sunrise and sunset whether or not you actually see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-like-that-time-is-marked-by-each-sunrise-and-sunset-whether-or-not/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [My dad was a very conservative Republican businessman, so obviously I considered it a problem when I realized I was a lesbian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/my-dad-was-a-very-conservative-republican-businessman-so-obviously-i/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [There's a lesbian aesthetic, just as there's gay camp, but I don't know if there's such a thing as 'lesbian art.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/there-s-a-lesbian-aesthetic-just-as-there-s-gay-camp-but-i-don-t-know/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I'm a complete supporter of Obama and kind of in love with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-a-complete-supporter-of-obama-and-kind-of-in-love-with-him/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I'm very empathic to the construction of masculinity within our culture and how we build these identities up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-very-empathic-to-the-construction-of-masculinity-within-our/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [Light is everything in photographs and has to be considered in all situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/light-is-everything-in-photographs-and-has-to-be-considered-in-all/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I want to seduce my viewers and be able to hold them with the work. Much of that is done in terms of formalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-want-to-seduce-my-viewers-and-be-able-to-hold-them-with-the-work/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I always give a print to everybody I photograph, and some of my subjects have told me they have a hard time hanging them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-always-give-a-print-to-everybody-i-photograph-and-some-of-my/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [When we were kids, growing up in the sixties, the only images we had of ourselves were either still photographs or 8mm movies… Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/when-we-were-kids-growing-up-in-the-sixties-the-only-images-we-had-of/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [Nature is a dream state at this point, that we almost don't have a real relationship to it unless it's people living off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/nature-is-a-dream-state-at-this-point-that-we-almost-don-t-have-a/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I'm kind of a twisted social documentary photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-kind-of-a-twisted-social-documentary-photographer/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) [Explore all 21 Catherine Opie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) ## More Documentaries quotes > [I like the cinema of people like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I am not keen on trying to reproduce reality - for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/i-like-the-cinema-of-people-like-terry-gilliam-and-tim-burton-i-am/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [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/) > [...it is a very risky thing for anyone to go about proclaiming the truth simply because he finds himself in possession of concrete documentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-amado/it-is-a-very-risky-thing-for-anyone-to-go-about-proclaiming-the-truth/) [Jorge Amado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-amado/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [I'm in school every day. It depends on what it is that you do with all that free time when I'm not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-lyte/i-m-in-school-every-day-it-depends-on-what-it-is-that-you-do-with-all/) [MC Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-lyte/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [So I do tend to do documentaries where I can move in and out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-apted/so-i-do-tend-to-do-documentaries-where-i-can-move-in-and-out-of-them/) [Michael Apted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-apted/) > [Helen Weaver’s book was a revelation to me! Although I was a young woman in the fifties, I was there, but I wasn’t there!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-cassady/helen-weaver-s-book-was-a-revelation-to-me-although-i-was-a-young/) Carolyn Cassady > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [I've had frustrated storytelling juices that have been lying dormant for a long time, and I guess the documentary was a way of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-ve-had-frustrated-storytelling-juices-that-have-been-lying-dormant/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) [Browse all 718 Documentaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate in history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherine Opie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-photographer-is-the-idea-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Documentaries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-photographer-is-the-idea-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dca/catherine-opie-26794_documentaries_the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-p_558523.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate…” — Catherine Opie", "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": "Catherine Opie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reason I call myself a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-photographer-is-the-idea-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-photographer-is-the-idea-of/#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 } } ] } ```