--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The camera is an instrument that teaches…" description: "\"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.\" — Dorothea Lange" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png" --- # The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see… ![“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” quote by Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png) > “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography can train perception, encouraging seeing beyond the lens itself. **In simple terms:** Seeing beyond the camera. Key Takeaway Cultivate observation skills. Themes perception art education Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - photojournalism - teaching - creative practice - critical observation Key Concepts visual literacy mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you train yourself to notice details without a camera? - What does “seeing without a camera” mean to you? A Different Perspective May overlook technical skill in favor of abstract vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I'm willing to go further than other people on camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-krakowski/i-m-willing-to-go-further-than-other-people-on-camera/) [Jane Krakowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-krakowski/) > [You put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-put-your-camera-around-your-neck-along-with-putting-on-your-shoes/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The camera is not the instrument. People are always the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stevens/the-camera-is-not-the-instrument-people-are-always-the-instrument/) [George Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stevens/) > [This is going to sound crazy, especially in America where there is a total inflation of the word "love," but in a sense you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/this-is-going-to-sound-crazy-especially-in-america-where-there-is-a/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [It occurred to me the other day that I've made out with more people on camera than I have in real life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-witt/it-occurred-to-me-the-other-day-that-i-ve-made-out-with-more-people/) [Alicia Witt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-witt/) > [My McQueen particularly was hard to make, because my father was dying. I see it, and I see my confusion, my pain, my everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lourdes-portillo/my-mcqueen-particularly-was-hard-to-make-because-my-father-was-dying/) [Lourdes Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lourdes-portillo/) > [Nowadays, Skype is a generational way of putting both people on camera at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/nowadays-skype-is-a-generational-way-of-putting-both-people-on-camera/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [A lot of the time, people are themselves on camera. Even if you start recording and they change a tiny bit, it's still some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/a-lot-of-the-time-people-are-themselves-on-camera-even-if-you-start/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [“As a camera is an instrument that teaches us how to see when we don't have a camera, writing is a process that teaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-agon/as-a-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-us-how-to-see-when-we-don-t/) [Ted Agon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-agon/) > [The camera is the instrument that brings the inner passion and the outward event into harmony with one another, this linking, or, rather, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/the-camera-is-the-instrument-that-brings-the-inner-passion-and-the/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [“The camera is an instrument of detection…we photograph what we know and what we don’t know… when I point my camera at something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-bosworth/the-camera-is-an-instrument-of-detection-we-photograph-what-we-know/) [Patricia Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-bosworth/) > [Photography through the camera is an instrument of detection. We photograph not only what we know, but also what we don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisette-model/photography-through-the-camera-is-an-instrument-of-detection-we/) [Lisette Model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisette-model/) > [“You put your camera around your neck in the morning along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-meltzer/you-put-your-camera-around-your-neck-in-the-morning-along-with/) Milton Meltzer ## More by Dorothea Lange > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-good-photograph-is-not-the-object-the-consequences-of-the/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/one-should-really-use-the-camera-as-though-tomorrow-you-d-be-stricken/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I believe that what we call beautiful is generally a by-product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-believe-that-what-we-call-beautiful-is-generally-a-by-product/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [That frame of mind that you need to make fine pictures of a very wonderful subject, you cannot do it by not being lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/that-frame-of-mind-that-you-need-to-make-fine-pictures-of-a-very/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [You go into a room and you know where you're welcome; you know where you're unwelcome.Sometimes in a hostile situation you stick around because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-go-into-a-room-and-you-know-where-you-re-welcome-you-know-where/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [No country has ever closely scrutinized itself visually ... I know what we could make of it if people only thought we could dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/no-country-has-ever-closely-scrutinized-itself-visually-i-know-what/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [Photography today appears to be in a state of flight... The familiar is made strange, the unfamiliar grotesque. The amateur forces his Sundays into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/photography-today-appears-to-be-in-a-state-of-flight-the-familiar-is/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I realize more and more what it takes to be a really good photographer. You go in over your head, not just up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-realize-more-and-more-what-it-takes-to-be-a-really-good/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [You know there are moments such as these when time stands still and all you do is hold your breath and hope it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-know-there-are-moments-such-as-these-when-time-stands-still-and/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [To me, beauty appears when one feels deeply, and art is an act of total attention,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/to-me-beauty-appears-when-one-feels-deeply-and-art-is-an-act-of-total/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I trust my instincts. I don't distrust them. They haven't led me astray. It's when I've made up my mind to be efficient that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-trust-my-instincts-i-don-t-distrust-them-they-haven-t-led-me-astray/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-the-subject-must-be-something/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/a-camera-is-a-tool-for-learning-how-to-see-without-a-camera/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-visual-life-is-an-enormous-undertaking-practically-unattainable/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) [Explore all 48 Dorothea Lange quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [When I made my debut as an actor in 'Rock On!' I was confident to get in front of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/when-i-made-my-debut-as-an-actor-in-rock-on-i-was-confident-to-get-in/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) Mitra Farahani > [To be honest, I don't know... something about the camera like turns me into such a diva. Like when it's on and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/to-be-honest-i-don-t-know-something-about-the-camera-like-turns-me/) [Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/) > [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“A camera is an opening in a box: that is the best emblem of the fact that a camera holding an object is holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/a-camera-is-an-opening-in-a-box-that-is-the-best-emblem-of-the-fact/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [It's such a weird thing, because you have a whole crew of people standing over there, on the other side. There's a camera pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-such-a-weird-thing-because-you-have-a-whole-crew-of-people/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [“The camera lets me see things in a different way. It's like I finally have perspective. I can't always say stuff right in words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/the-camera-lets-me-see-things-in-a-different-way-it-s-like-i-finally/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I was so green, and my background was mostly in theater. The only thing I'd done in front of a camera, besides an infomercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-was-so-green-and-my-background-was-mostly-in-theater-the-only-thing/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [As far as lighting and blocking, camera angles and facial expressions, all that stuff that has to be very specific in film, as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/as-far-as-lighting-and-blocking-camera-angles-and-facial-expressions/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to move the camera that much anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/i-don-t-like-to-move-the-camera-that-much-anyway/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [I feel like 'Preacher's Daughter' was my Trojan horse, in a way. I'm excited to pull back, be behind the camera instead of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-feel-like-preacher-s-daughter-was-my-trojan-horse-in-a-way-i-m/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) [Browse all 2,026 Camera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothea Lange" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camera" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/dorothea-lange-13986_camera_the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches_501147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” — Dorothea Lange", "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": "Dorothea Lange", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The camera is an instrument that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/#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 } } ] } ```