--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's hard not to tell the truth with a…" description: "\"It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. Artists are particularly good at that.\" — Edward Weston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/edward-weston-8944_art_it-s-hard-not-to-tell-the-truth-with-a-c_1729945.jpg" --- # It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. Artists are… ![“It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. Artists are particularly good at that.” quote by Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/edward-weston-8944_art_it-s-hard-not-to-tell-the-truth-with-a-c_1729945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/edward-weston-8944_art_it-s-hard-not-to-tell-the-truth-with-a-c_1729945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ab/edward-weston-8944_art_it-s-hard-not-to-tell-the-truth-with-a-c_1729945.jpg) > “It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. Artists are particularly good at that.” [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cameras reveal truth; artists excel at exposing it. **In simple terms:** Cameras expose truth; artists reveal it. Key Takeaway Use photography to uncover hidden realities. Themes photography truth art observation Mood inspired observant Type artistic reflective When to use this quote - photojournalism - exhibition curating - education Key Concepts visual arts journalism documentary Questions to Reflect On - What truths do you capture? - How does artistic perspective alter reality? A Different Perspective Truth may be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Indeed, artists, particularly modern artists, have intentionally limited the scope and vocabulary of their expression to convey, as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/indeed-artists-particularly-modern-artists-have-intentionally-limited/) [Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/) > [The film of tomorrow will not be directed by civil servants of the camera, but by artists for whom shooting a film constitutes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-truffaut/the-film-of-tomorrow-will-not-be-directed-by-civil-servants-of-the/) [Francois Truffaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-truffaut/) > [A deeper truth the camera can see can be more surprising than even the director imagined it could be. That's a wonderful thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-redgrave/a-deeper-truth-the-camera-can-see-can-be-more-surprising-than-even/) [Vanessa Redgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-redgrave/) > [Just tell the truth, and they'll accuse you of writing black humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-willeford/just-tell-the-truth-and-they-ll-accuse-you-of-writing-black-humor/) [Charles Willeford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-willeford/) > [If you hate something, you hate it, and if you like something or somebody, you like it, but tell the truth. And most celebrities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/if-you-hate-something-you-hate-it-and-if-you-like-something-or/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [But one of the things I learned is that when you fight for something you believe in and you tell the truth and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kerry/but-one-of-the-things-i-learned-is-that-when-you-fight-for-something/) [Vanessa Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-kerry/) > [Tell the truth and not the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/tell-the-truth-and-not-the-facts/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Always tell the truth or the truth will tell on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-k-sonnenberg/always-tell-the-truth-or-the-truth-will-tell-on-you/) [Frank K. Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-k-sonnenberg/) > [When you get real old, honey, you realize there are certain things that just don't matter anymore. You lay it all on the table.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-louise-delany/when-you-get-real-old-honey-you-realize-there-are-certain-things-that/) [Sarah Louise Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-louise-delany/) > [ \[Eugene Smith\] was always writing these diatribes about truth, and how he wanted to tell the truth, the truth, the truth. It was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/eugene-smith-was-always-writing-these-diatribes-about-truth-and-how/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [Tell the truth or trump-but get the trick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/tell-the-truth-or-trump-but-get-the-trick/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're playing country music, you have to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-kane/when-you-re-playing-country-music-you-have-to-tell-the-truth/) [Christian Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-kane/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## More by Edward Weston > [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Since the recording process is instantaneous, and the nature of the image such that it cannot survive corrective handwork, it is obvious that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/since-the-recording-process-is-instantaneous-and-the-nature-of-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [for the obvious reason that nature - unadulterated and unimproved by man - is simply chaos. In fact, the camera proves that nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/for-the-obvious-reason-that-nature-unadulterated-and-unimproved-by/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Good composition is merely the strongest way of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/good-composition-is-merely-the-strongest-way-of-seeing/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Now one does not think during creative work: any more than one thinks when driving a car. One has a background of years —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/now-one-does-not-think-during-creative-work-any-more-than-one-thinks/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The photographer's most important and likewise most difficult task is not learning to manage his camera, or to develop, or to print. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-photographer-s-most-important-and-likewise-most-difficult-task-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > […so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/so-called-composition-becomes-a-personal-thing-to-be-developed-along/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Very often people looking at my pictures say, 'You must have had to wait a long time to get that cloud just right (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/very-often-people-looking-at-my-pictures-say-you-must-have-had-to/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [An excellent conception can be quite obscured by faulty technical execution or clarified by faultless technique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/an-excellent-conception-can-be-quite-obscured-by-faulty-technical/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I would say to any artist: Don't be repressed in your work, dare to experiment, consider any urge, if in a new direction all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-would-say-to-any-artist-don-t-be-repressed-in-your-work-dare-to/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [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/) > [Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/consulting-the-rules-of-composition-before-taking-a-photograph-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [As great a picture can be made as one's mental capacity-no greater. Art cannot be taught; it must be self-inspiration, though the imagination may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/as-great-a-picture-can-be-made-as-one-s-mental-capacity-no-greater/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I always work better when I do not reason, when no question of right or wrong enter in,-when my pulse quickens to the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-always-work-better-when-i-do-not-reason-when-no-question-of-right/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Results alone should be appraised; the way in which these are achieved is of importance only to the maker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/results-alone-should-be-appraised-the-way-in-which-these-are-achieved/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) [Explore all 76 Edward Weston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) ## 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": "It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. 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