--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Photography is very presumptuous…" description: "\"Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/duane-michals-10800_drawing_photography-is-very-presumptuous-photogr_2111882.png" --- # Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always… ![“Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great inferences into it.” quote by Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/duane-michals-10800_drawing_photography-is-very-presumptuous-photogr_2111882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/duane-michals-10800_drawing_photography-is-very-presumptuous-photogr_2111882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/duane-michals-10800_drawing_photography-is-very-presumptuous-photogr_2111882.png) > “Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great inferences into it.” [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how photographers often assume insight into others' lives, making judgments without true understanding. **In simple terms:** Photographers assume they know others' lives and infer too much. Key Takeaway Question assumptions before interpreting others' experiences. Themes ethics perception artistic responsibility Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type observational ethical philosophical When to use this quote - documentary projects - portrait sessions - journalistic reporting - social media sharing Key Concepts subjectivity representation privacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify the stories you capture? - What responsibilities do you have to your subjects? A Different Perspective Assumptions can lead to misrepresentation and ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Inference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inference/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographers/) [Photographers Photographing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographers-photographing-4267575/) [Photographing People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographing-people-902816/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Presumptuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-presumptuous-4267573/) [Presumptuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumptuous/) [Presumptuous Photographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumptuous-photographers-4267574/) ## Related quotes > [Ultimately success or failure in photographing people depends on the photographer's ability to understand his fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/ultimately-success-or-failure-in-photographing-people-depends-on-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I have been photographing people dancing for 20 or 30 years now, and I think I will eventually do a book of dancing photos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/i-have-been-photographing-people-dancing-for-20-or-30-years-now-and-i/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [I like taking photographs, because I like life. 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I guess I prefer the mystery of strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-ve-never-been-comfortable-photographing-people-i-know-myself/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I started photographing people on the street during World War II. I used a little box Brownie. Nothing too expensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cunningham/i-started-photographing-people-on-the-street-during-world-war-ii-i/) [Bill Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cunningham/) > [Sometimes photographing people is like pulling teeth, trying to get some sort of personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-taylor-johnson/sometimes-photographing-people-is-like-pulling-teeth-trying-to-get/) [Sam Taylor-Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-taylor-johnson/) > [There's always been something illicit about the way I work. I'm photographing people I don't know, when nobody else is home - there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-grannan/there-s-always-been-something-illicit-about-the-way-i-work-i-m/) [Katy Grannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-grannan/) > [I'm more interested in photographing people who have done something, like writers or directors - even billionaires - as long as I can study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-carrozzini/i-m-more-interested-in-photographing-people-who-have-done-something/) [Francesco Carrozzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-carrozzini/) > [I like photographing the people I love, the people I admire, the famous, and especially the infamous. My last infamous subject was the extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/i-like-photographing-the-people-i-love-the-people-i-admire-the-famous/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [I hate having my photograph taken and I try to keep that in mind when I'm photographing other people. But the best photos that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-hate-having-my-photograph-taken-and-i-try-to-keep-that-in-mind-when/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [I'm not interested into victim photography. Photographing people suffering and putting it on a museum wall is too weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-misrach/i-m-not-interested-into-victim-photography-photographing-people/) [Richard Misrach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-misrach/) > [I'm very little drawn to photographing people that are known or even subjects that are known. They fascinate me when I've barely heard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-m-very-little-drawn-to-photographing-people-that-are-known-or-even/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I love people, and photographing people is something I hope I never get tired of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-tillmans/i-love-people-and-photographing-people-is-something-i-hope-i-never/) [Wolfgang Tillmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-tillmans/) ## More by Duane Michals > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [All good children's books, I think, address metaphysical issues in some kind of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/all-good-children-s-books-i-think-address-metaphysical-issues-in-some/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [My work is about my life as an event, and I find myself to be very temporal, transient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/my-work-is-about-my-life-as-an-event-and-i-find-myself-to-be-very/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [And in not learning the rules, I was free. I always say, you're either defined by the medium or you redefine the medium in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/and-in-not-learning-the-rules-i-was-free-i-always-say-you-re-either/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photography does deal with 'truth' or a kind of superficial reality better than any of the other arts, but it never questions the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-does-deal-with-truth-or-a-kind-of-superficial-reality/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [People of my generation who became photographers in the late fifties, early sixties, there were no rewards in photography. There were no museum shows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/people-of-my-generation-who-became-photographers-in-the-late-fifties/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Taking photographs and writing is my way of saying I was here, I saw this, I felt this, I heard this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/taking-photographs-and-writing-is-my-way-of-saying-i-was-here-i-saw/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [I write in order to express what the photo itself cannot say. A photograph of my father doesn't tell me what I thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-write-in-order-to-express-what-the-photo-itself-cannot-say-a/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [If I indulge myself and surrender to memory, I can still feel the knot of excitement that gripped me as I turned the corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/if-i-indulge-myself-and-surrender-to-memory-i-can-still-feel-the-knot/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Art has to address eternal issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/art-has-to-address-eternal-issues/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [I believe in the invisible. I do not believe in the definitive reality of things around us. For me, reality is the intuition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-believe-in-the-invisible-i-do-not-believe-in-the-definitive-reality/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [All good work has magic in it, and addresses the mind in a subtle way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/all-good-work-has-magic-in-it-and-addresses-the-mind-in-a-subtle-way/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Art is not fashionable. That's why fashion and art are two different things. Fashion can never be art because fashion deals with whim, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/art-is-not-fashionable-that-s-why-fashion-and-art-are-two-different/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/there-are-those-photographers-who-have-made-a-whole-career-doing/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-deals-exquisitely-with-appearances-but-nothing-is-what-it/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Explore all 62 Duane Michals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## More Drawing quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [My drawing not that goog but alwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/my-drawing-not-that-goog-but-alwell/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) > [It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-is-the-common-defect-of-modern-art-study-too-many-students-do-not/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The big problem for comic art is you don't want to overwork it. If a drawing is overworked it isn't funny. It's the spontaneity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sorel/the-big-problem-for-comic-art-is-you-don-t-want-to-overwork-it-if-a/) [Edward Sorel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sorel/) > [Keep a bad drawing until by study you have found out why it is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/keep-a-bad-drawing-until-by-study-you-have-found-out-why-it-is-bad/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Cold calculation, random spots of color, mathematically exact construction (clearly shown or concealed), drawing that is now silent and now strident . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-puccini/cold-calculation-random-spots-of-color-mathematically-exact/) [Giacomo Puccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-puccini/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. 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