--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first became interested in…" description: "\"When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg" --- # When I first became interested in photography, I thought… ![“When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don't give a hoot in hell about that. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself.” quote by Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg) > “When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don't give a hoot in hell about that. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself.” [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography's purpose is to reveal human experience and self‑understanding, not to chase artistic prestige. **In simple terms:** Photos show people and themselves. Key Takeaway Focus on truth, not status. Themes art humanity communication Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - documentary work - portrait sessions - educational exhibits Key Concepts visual storytelling self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does photography change your view of yourself? - What responsibility do photographers have to their subjects? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Fine arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-arts/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Man To Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-to-man/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/the-mission-of-photography-is-to-explain-man-to-man-and-each-to/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [The highest vocation of photography is to explain man to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-highest-vocation-of-photography-is-to-explain-man-to-man/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I turned to photography because I thought it was the dominant language of our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-charlesworth/i-turned-to-photography-because-i-thought-it-was-the-dominant/) [Sarah Charlesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-charlesworth/) > [The invention of photography has dealt a mortal blow to the old modes of expression, in painting as well as in poetry, where automatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-invention-of-photography-has-dealt-a-mortal-blow-to-the-old-modes/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I was born in Seoul, South Korea; then I moved to New York City at the age of seventeen. In New York, I studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sung-jin-park/i-was-born-in-seoul-south-korea-then-i-moved-to-new-york-city-at-the/) [Sung Jin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sung-jin-park/) > [I've always thought that each album would be my last one, and then I would be out of ideas and I would move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-ve-always-thought-that-each-album-would-be-my-last-one-and-then-i/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [...all along I've had an ambivalent relationship to photography - but as to whether I thought it an art form, or a craft, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/all-along-i-ve-had-an-ambivalent-relationship-to-photography-but-as/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm glad I don't have to explain to a man from Mars why each day I set fire to dozens of little pieces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/i-m-glad-i-don-t-have-to-explain-to-a-man-from-mars-why-each-day-i/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“When it is said that it was done to please a woman, there ought perhaps to be enough to explain anything; for what a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-chesnutt/when-it-is-said-that-it-was-done-to-please-a-woman-there-ought/) [Charles W. Chesnutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-chesnutt/) > [“But a man’s relationship to the world is determined not just by his intellect but by his feelings and by his who aggregate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-a-man-s-relationship-to-the-world-is-determined-not-just-by-his/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I don't think any word can explain a man's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/i-don-t-think-any-word-can-explain-a-man-s-life/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [I will never explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of freedom that I provide, then question the manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-never-explain-myself-to-a-man-who-rises-and-sleeps-under-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that you can explain it to the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/a-mathematical-theory-is-not-to-be-considered-complete-until-you-have/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [I was always interested in photography and other forms of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-baryshnikov/i-was-always-interested-in-photography-and-other-forms-of-art/) [Mikhail Baryshnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-baryshnikov/) > [I became interested in photography when I was sharing a studio with Walker Evans, and found my own sketching was inadequate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-became-interested-in-photography-when-i-was-sharing-a-studio-with/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) ## More by Edward Steichen > [It is an error common to many artists, who strive merely to avoid mistakes, when all our efforts should be to create positive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/it-is-an-error-common-to-many-artists-who-strive-merely-to-avoid/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Every ten years a man should give himself a good kick in the pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/every-ten-years-a-man-should-give-himself-a-good-kick-in-the-pants/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Art for art's sake is dead, if it ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/art-for-art-s-sake-is-dead-if-it-ever-lived/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/the-mission-of-photography-is-to-explain-man-to-man-and-each-to/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/a-portrait-is-not-made-in-the-camera-but-on-either-side-of-it/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [The boy and girl going hand in hand through a meadow; the mother washing her baby; the sweet simple things in life. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/the-boy-and-girl-going-hand-in-hand-through-a-meadow-the-mother/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [When that shutter clicks, anything else that can be done afterward is not worth consideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-that-shutter-clicks-anything-else-that-can-be-done-afterward-is/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Women-the greatest natural resource in the world today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/women-the-greatest-natural-resource-in-the-world-today/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [There is only one optimist. He has been here since man has been on this earth, and that is man himself. If we hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/there-is-only-one-optimist-he-has-been-here-since-man-has-been-on/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [If it were possible for any one person or group of persons to go through a photographic finishing plant's work at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/if-it-were-possible-for-any-one-person-or-group-of-persons-to-go/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Some day there may be... machinery that needs but to be wound up and sent roaming o'er hill and dale, through fields and meadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/some-day-there-may-be-machinery-that-needs-but-to-be-wound-up-and/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [The boy and girl going hand in hand through a meadow; the mother washing her baby; the sweet simple things in life. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/the-boy-and-girl-going-hand-in-hand-through-a-meadow-the-mother-2/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/that-nature-only-is-good-when-it-shall-not-do-unto-another-whatever/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [The precision of hisskill places his work beyond the tentative and the experimental stage. He is continually searching and exploring both himself and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/the-precision-of-hisskill-places-his-work-beyond-the-tentative-and/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [You know... that a blank wall is an apalling thing to look at... The wall of a museum - a canvas - a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/you-know-that-a-blank-wall-is-an-apalling-thing-to-look-at-the-wall/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) [Explore all 30 Edward Steichen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don't give a hoot in hell about that. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Steichen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-i-first-became-interested-in-photography-i-thought-it-was-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-i-first-became-interested-in-photography-i-thought-it-was-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/edward-steichen-20814_art_when-i-first-became-interested-in-photog_2547370.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it…” — Edward Steichen", "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": "Edward Steichen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I first became interested in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-i-first-became-interested-in-photography-i-thought-it-was-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/when-i-first-became-interested-in-photography-i-thought-it-was-the/#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 } } ] } ```