--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are those photographers who have…" description: "\"There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are others who've onl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/duane-michals-10800_absolutely_there-are-those-photographers-who-have-m_955324.png" --- # There are those photographers who have made a whole career… ![“There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are others who've only had museum shows but couldn't survive for five seconds in the real world of photography. But I've done absolutely everything.” quote by Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/duane-michals-10800_absolutely_there-are-those-photographers-who-have-m_955324.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/duane-michals-10800_absolutely_there-are-those-photographers-who-have-m_955324.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/duane-michals-10800_absolutely_there-are-those-photographers-who-have-m_955324.png) > “There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are others who've only had museum shows but couldn't survive for five seconds in the real world of photography. But I've done absolutely everything.” [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. Balancing commercial viability with artistic recognition is essential; both are needed for a sustainable career. **In simple terms:** Art and commerce must coexist. Key Takeaway Find both market and muse. Themes art career balance Mood reflective realistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery shows - freelance contracts - personal projects Key Concepts artistic integrity commercial success Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize income or expression? - How can you merge them? A Different Perspective Pure art may not pay bills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutely/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Commercial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commercial/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Museum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museum/) [Museum Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museum-shows-1731105/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/others/) [Photographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographers/) [Photographers Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographers-career-1731103/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-ve-1731104/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Seconds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seconds/) [Show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/show/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) [The real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-real-world/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-photography-559445/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes it’s not how much light you use to get an effect, it’s how little you use and still make it work. 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A photographer never makes an actual subject; they just steal the image from the world...Photography is a system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/photography-is-like-a-found-object-a-photographer-never-makes-an/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [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/) > [Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great inferences into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-is-very-presumptuous-photographers-are-always/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [A lot of photographers walk around looking for something 'out there,' but I'm very much interested in what's 'in here.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/a-lot-of-photographers-walk-around-looking-for-something-out-there/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Photographers usually want to photograph facts and things. But I'm interested in the nature of the thing itself. A photograph of someone sleeping tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photographers-usually-want-to-photograph-facts-and-things-but-i-m/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > ['The Matrix' is a movie that is all about glamour. I could do a whole talk on 'The Matrix' and glamour. It was criticized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-matrix-is-a-movie-that-is-all-about-glamour-i-could-do-a-whole/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) ## More by Duane Michals > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. 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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. 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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/) > [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/) > [Flowers construct the most charming geometries: circles like the sun, ovals, cones, curlicues and a variety of triangular eccentricities, which when viewed with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/flowers-construct-the-most-charming-geometries-circles-like-the-sun/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Explore all 62 Duane Michals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## More Absolutely quotes > [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. 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I absolutely love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/if-i-was-a-man-i-would-be-a-drag-queen-honestly-i-would-i-absolutely/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [There's very little about being in a functional-M.R.I. scanner that is natural: you are flat on your back, absolutely still, with your head immobilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/there-s-very-little-about-being-in-a-functional-m-r-i-scanner-that-is/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [When you're still, and some actors are really brilliant at that, you bring a kind of energy to you as opposed to sending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/when-you-re-still-and-some-actors-are-really-brilliant-at-that-you/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) > [I'm absolutely an Elizabeth Taylor fan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-m-absolutely-an-elizabeth-taylor-fan/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [You can absolutely be what you can't see! 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They absolutely wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-di-maria/there-were-a-lot-of-clubs-interested-in-me-a-lot-really-but/) [Angel Di Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-di-maria/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I absolutely love 'TOWIE.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-collins/i-absolutely-love-towie/) [Gemma Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-collins/) > [Chucky is absolutely still a puppet. He will remain to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-dourif/chucky-is-absolutely-still-a-puppet-he-will-remain-to-be/) [Fiona Dourif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-dourif/) [Browse all 1,136 Absolutely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutely/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are those photographers who have made a whole career doing commercial work but have never had a museum show, and then there are others who've only had museum shows but couldn't survive for five seconds in the real world of photography. 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