--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing I would never photograph is a…" description: "\"One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.\" — Diane Arbus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg" --- # One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the… ![“One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.” quote by Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg) > “One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.” [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She refuses to capture a dog in mud, implying dignity over base realism. **In simple terms:** She avoids photographing a mud‑covered dog. Key Takeaway Respect subjects’ dignity. Themes respect ethics photography Mood thoughtful reflective Type ethical artistic When to use this quote - portrait sessions - documentary work - studio shoots Key Concepts human dignity artist intent Questions to Reflect On - How does setting affect subject dignity? - When is it okay to capture unflattering truth? A Different Perspective May limit artistic exploration of gritty realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dog Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog-lying-3253638/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Lying Mud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying-mud-5448106/) [Mud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mud/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-dog-5448107/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Thing Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-photograph-756199/) ## Related quotes > [Someone said to me, early on in film school if you can photograph the human face you can photograph anything, because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/someone-said-to-me-early-on-in-film-school-if-you-can-photograph-the/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) > [I've always said that the only thing a photograph is good at capturing faithfully is another flat surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-ve-always-said-that-the-only-thing-a-photograph-is-good-at/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [“Mykl d’Angelo groaned where he sat slumped in his chair. The irritating noise was unsettling his pet dog lying on his lap. The wickerwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/mykl-d-angelo-groaned-where-he-sat-slumped-in-his-chair-the/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [“It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears's house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/it-was-7-minutes-after-midnight-the-dog-was-lying-on-the-grass-in-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“The best thing about a photograph is that it never changes. Even if the people in it do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/the-best-thing-about-a-photograph-is-that-it-never-changes-even-if/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I do not photograph for ulterior purposes. I photograph for the thing itself - for the photograph - without consideration of how it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-porter/i-do-not-photograph-for-ulterior-purposes-i-photograph-for-the-thing/) [Eliot Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-porter/) > [It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strand/it-is-one-thing-to-photograph-people-it-is-another-to-make-others/) [Paul Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strand/) > [There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment. This kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/there-is-one-thing-the-photograph-must-contain-the-humanity-of-the/) [Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/) > [I want to photograph the considerable ceremonies of our present. I want to gather them, like somebody's grandmother putting up preserves, because they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-want-to-photograph-the-considerable-ceremonies-of-our-present-i/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Our love was born outside the walls, in the wind, in the night, in the earth, and that's why the clay and the flower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/our-love-was-born-outside-the-walls-in-the-wind-in-the-night-in-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [From my image of digging around in the mud like a grunt, I preferred fighting the war from ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/from-my-image-of-digging-around-in-the-mud-like-a-grunt-i-preferred/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More by Diane Arbus > [I mean, it's very subtle and a little embarrassing to me, but I really believe there are things which nobody would see unless I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-mean-it-s-very-subtle-and-a-little-embarrassing-to-me-but-i-really/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [...I would never choose a subject for what it means to me. I choose a subject and then what I feel about it, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-would-never-choose-a-subject-for-what-it-means-to-me-i-choose-a/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I think the most beautiful inventions are the ones you don't think of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-think-the-most-beautiful-inventions-are-the-ones-you-don-t-think-of/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [Nudists are fond of saying that when you come right down to it everyone is alike, and, again, that when you come right down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/nudists-are-fond-of-saying-that-when-you-come-right-down-to-it/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I think all families are creepy in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-think-all-families-are-creepy-in-a-way/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don't like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-work-from-awkwardness-by-that-i-mean-i-don-t-like-to-arrange-things/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [We've all got an identity. You can't avoid it. It's what's left when you take everything else away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/we-ve-all-got-an-identity-you-can-t-avoid-it-it-s-what-s-left-when/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I never have taken a picture I've intended. They're always better or worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-never-have-taken-a-picture-i-ve-intended-they-re-always-better-or/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/the-world-can-only-be-grasped-by-action-not-by-contemplation-the-hand/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [ \[Our self-image is\] that gap between intention and effect ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/our-self-image-is-that-gap-between-intention-and-effect/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [They are the proof of something was there and no longer is. Like a stain. And the stillness of them is boggling. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/they-are-the-proof-of-something-was-there-and-no-longer-is-like-a/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [Everybody has that thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that's what people observe. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/everybody-has-that-thing-where-they-need-to-look-one-way-but-they/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [It's always seemed to me that photography tends to deal with facts whereas film tends to deal with fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/it-s-always-seemed-to-me-that-photography-tends-to-deal-with-facts/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [My favourite thing is to go where I've never been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/my-favourite-thing-is-to-go-where-i-ve-never-been/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I want to photograph the considerable ceremonies of our present. I want to gather them, like somebody's grandmother putting up preserves, because they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-want-to-photograph-the-considerable-ceremonies-of-our-present-i/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) [Explore all 80 Diane Arbus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) ## More Dog quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [“Flattery looks like friendship, just like a wolf looks like a dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice/flattery-looks-like-friendship-just-like-a-wolf-looks-like-a-dog/) [Oscar Auliq-Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-auliq-ice/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [A shoe dog is somebody that really loves shoes, and that was me. I was a runner... that became important to me, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/a-shoe-dog-is-somebody-that-really-loves-shoes-and-that-was-me-i-was/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“I rub the ears of my dog, my stupid goddam ruddy great dog that I never wanted but who hung around anyway and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/i-rub-the-ears-of-my-dog-my-stupid-goddam-ruddy-great-dog-that-i/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ “A hasty dog always burns his mouth. \[192\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-t-plaatje/a-hasty-dog-always-burns-his-mouth-192/) [Sol T. Plaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-t-plaatje/) > [And if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded - period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-if-the-big-dog-ain-t-me-then-the-house-won-t-get-guarded-period/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed that aggressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/) [Edward Custo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-custo/) [Browse all 6,836 Dog quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diane Arbus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a-dog-lying-in-the-mud/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dog" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a-dog-lying-in-the-mud/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/diane-arbus-8503_dog_one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a_2302813.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.” — Diane Arbus", "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": "Diane Arbus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One thing I would never photograph...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a-dog-lying-in-the-mud/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/one-thing-i-would-never-photograph-is-a-dog-lying-in-the-mud/#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 } } ] } ```