--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would like my pictures to look as if a…" description: "\"I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory trace of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/francis-bacon-297_human-beings_i-would-like-my-pictures-to-look-as-if-a_106177.jpg" --- # I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had… ![“I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory trace of past events, as the snail leaves its slime.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/francis-bacon-297_human-beings_i-would-like-my-pictures-to-look-as-if-a_106177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/francis-bacon-297_human-beings_i-would-like-my-pictures-to-look-as-if-a_106177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/francis-bacon-297_human-beings_i-would-like-my-pictures-to-look-as-if-a_106177.jpg) > “I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory trace of past events, as the snail leaves its slime.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker wants photographs to capture the fleeting, almost invisible presence of humans, akin to a snail's subtle trail, preserving memory and the passage of time. **In simple terms:** Photos should reveal the hidden human trace left behind. Key Takeaway Art can record subtle, transient human presence. Themes photography memory presence metaphor Mood poetic contemplative Type artistic vision metaphorical description When to use this quote - portraiture - documentary work - archival projects Key Concepts ephemerality trace theory Practical Applications - use long‑exposure or motion blur to suggest lingering presence Questions to Reflect On - What techniques best convey an invisible human trace? - How does metaphor shape our perception of photographs? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Trails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trails/) ## Related quotes > [Life is like pictures. You can look back on the moments, but you can never recapture them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/life-is-like-pictures-you-can-look-back-on-the-moments-but-you-can/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-revolution-evaporates-and-leaves-behind-only-the-slime-of-a-new/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Diversity is not just about the fact that the pictures look better. I mean, they always do look better!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/diversity-is-not-just-about-the-fact-that-the-pictures-look-better-i/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [I was asked, "How did you get pictures that look like this?" It doesn't happen today because now everybody has to have permission. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-vadukul/i-was-asked-how-did-you-get-pictures-that-look-like-this-it-doesn-t/) Max Vadukul > [I understand things go out of fashion believe me, there are pictures of myself I can't even look at now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jani-lane/i-understand-things-go-out-of-fashion-believe-me-there-are-pictures/) [Jani Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jani-lane/) > [I never think about my style but just try and make the pictures look believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-never-think-about-my-style-but-just-try-and-make-the-pictures-look/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Pictures are pictures, and they can be made to look like whatever they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-hardy/pictures-are-pictures-and-they-can-be-made-to-look-like-whatever-they/) [Greg Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-hardy/) > [Old pictures look very rugged and young, and the people in the photographs always seem a lot happier than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/old-pictures-look-very-rugged-and-young-and-the-people-in-the-2/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“Old pictures look very rugged and young, and the people in the photographs always seem a lot happier than you are... I just hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/old-pictures-look-very-rugged-and-young-and-the-people-in-the/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I have no interest in ever coming out. I’m just trying to make the pictures look good; I’m not into trying to make myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/i-have-no-interest-in-ever-coming-out-i-m-just-trying-to-make-the/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [To be able to take my pictures, I have to look, all the time, at the people and places I care about. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/to-be-able-to-take-my-pictures-i-have-to-look-all-the-time-at-the/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [How many pictures have you torn up because you hate them? What ends up in your scrapbook? The pictures where you look like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/how-many-pictures-have-you-torn-up-because-you-hate-them-what-ends-up/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I guess I dont come to the work without baggage. I have an idea of what I want my pictures to look like in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/i-guess-i-dont-come-to-the-work-without-baggage-i-have-an-idea-of/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [I guess I don't come to the work without baggage. I have an idea of what I want my pictures to look like in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/i-guess-i-don-t-come-to-the-work-without-baggage-i-have-an-idea-of/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [“Do I look human enough to pass in the day?" "Yes, Suze. You do if you're looking to be a bouncer at a strip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emi-gayle/do-i-look-human-enough-to-pass-in-the-day-yes-suze-you-do-if-you-re/) Emi Gayle ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. 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The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. 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