--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a hired gun, more or less." description: "\"I was a hired gun, more or less.\" — Garry Winogrand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png" --- # I was a hired gun, more or less. ![“I was a hired gun, more or less.” quote by Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png) > “I was a hired gun, more or less.” [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) ## 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 describes himself as a mercenary of images, implying a pragmatic, perhaps detached, approach to photography. **In simple terms:** He worked as a hired photographer. Key Takeaway Approach work with professionalism. Themes photography work ethic identity detachment Mood analytical critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - photojournalism - freelance assignments - gallery exhibitions - creative workshops Key Concepts visual storytelling career motivation artistic purpose Questions to Reflect On - What does being a “hired gun” reveal about artistic integrity? - How does commercial work influence creative expression? A Different Perspective May suggest lack of artistic passion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) ## Related quotes > [As an actor, you're pretty much a hired gun. You are reading other people's words off of a page and doing what they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-feldman/as-an-actor-you-re-pretty-much-a-hired-gun-you-are-reading-other/) [Corey Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-feldman/) > [“Make as much as you can, as fast as you can, as long as you can." Law of the Hired Gun”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-danger-workman/make-as-much-as-you-can-as-fast-as-you-can-as-long-as-you-can-law-of/) Robert Danger Workman > [“HIRED GUN HUNTED RESURRECTION IN COLD BLOOD REAGAN’S”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-thomas/hired-gun-hunted-resurrection-in-cold-blood-reagan-s/) Robert J. Thomas > [In the final analysis, photography... is ever a hireling, ever the hired gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-solomon-godeau/in-the-final-analysis-photography-is-ever-a-hireling-ever-the-hired/) [Abigail Solomon-Godeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-solomon-godeau/) > [Since my parents both worked, they hired me when I was 11 to make dinner every night. I got a quarter a day. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-hatcher/since-my-parents-both-worked-they-hired-me-when-i-was-11-to-make/) [Teri Hatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-hatcher/) > [I also did an Ozzy piece for him, and so I got hired. Everything happened really fast. I can't give people advice, because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/i-also-did-an-ozzy-piece-for-him-and-so-i-got-hired-everything/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“We were anxious to begin our life as people who had no people. And it was easy to find an apartment because we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/we-were-anxious-to-begin-our-life-as-people-who-had-no-people-and-it/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [The last reason I want to be hired is because of my gender. I want to be hired because you trust me, because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-hammon/the-last-reason-i-want-to-be-hired-is-because-of-my-gender-i-want-to/) [Becky Hammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-hammon/) > [You don't buy experience at the pharmacy. You acquire it through games over time. Every player must go through that, but when the federation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agustin-castillo/you-don-t-buy-experience-at-the-pharmacy-you-acquire-it-through-games/) Agustin Castillo > [I had been hired and fired so many times and been so very blessed and lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldust/i-had-been-hired-and-fired-so-many-times-and-been-so-very-blessed-and/) [Goldust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldust/) > [I promised myself: Before your 18th birthday, you're going to be at Jean Paul Gaultier. And it worked. I was hired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/i-promised-myself-before-your-18th-birthday-you-re-going-to-be-at/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [“With warm pleasantries, strangers become clients. With firm handshakes, contracts become signed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/utibe-samuel-mbom/with-warm-pleasantries-strangers-become-clients-with-firm-handshakes/) [Utibe Samuel Mbom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/utibe-samuel-mbom/) > [The more shows that are produced, the more writers are hired, producers are hired, actors are hired, directors are hired, it means the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/the-more-shows-that-are-produced-the-more-writers-are-hired-producers/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [“stay in for a while?” Donnie turned to face him. “You not staying out at her place?” “I’ll get my hired”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hayes/stay-in-for-a-while-donnie-turned-to-face-him-you-not-staying-out-at/) [Christy Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hayes/) > [“I study dead languages for a living,” I said. “That’s why you hired me. Why should I be up to speed on your line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/i-study-dead-languages-for-a-living-i-said-that-s-why-you-hired-me/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More by Garry Winogrand > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [It's got to do with the contention between content and form. Invariably that's what's responsible for its energies, its tensions, its being interesting or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/it-s-got-to-do-with-the-contention-between-content-and-form/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't think anything happens without the press, one way or the other. I think it's all done for it. You saw it start,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-think-anything-happens-without-the-press-one-way-or-the-other/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't really have any faith in anybody enjoying photographs in a large enough sense to matter. I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [When I see something, I know why something's funny or seems to be funny. But in the end it's just another picture as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/when-i-see-something-i-know-why-something-s-funny-or-seems-to-be/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There are things I photograph because I'm interested in those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-are-things-i-photograph-because-i-m-interested-in-those-things/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There's no way a photograph has to look... in a sense. There are no formal rules of design that can apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-s-no-way-a-photograph-has-to-look-in-a-sense-there-are-no/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't have anything to say in any picture. My only interest in photography is to see what something looks like as a photograph.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-have-anything-to-say-in-any-picture-my-only-interest-in/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I'll come back to New York. I think I'll start focusing in more on the entertainment business. I have been doing some of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-ll-come-back-to-new-york-i-think-i-ll-start-focusing-in-more-on-the/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There is no special way a photograph should look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-is-no-special-way-a-photograph-should-look/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [It's a lot of work organizing something, whether it's a show or a book, and I don't want to do it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/it-s-a-lot-of-work-organizing-something-whether-it-s-a-show-or-a-book/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I have a good friend who's a very good printer. And he does a certain amount of printing for me. I do all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-a-good-friend-who-s-a-very-good-printer-and-he-does-a-certain/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I never saw a pyramid, but I've seen photographs; I know what a pyramid or a sphinx looks like. There are pictures that do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-never-saw-a-pyramid-but-i-ve-seen-photographs-i-know-what-a-pyramid/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I develop my own film. And I work in spurts. I pile it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-develop-my-own-film-and-i-work-in-spurts-i-pile-it-up/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [People are going to have a good time, you know. One can go have a good time at these big openings in museums. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/people-are-going-to-have-a-good-time-you-know-one-can-go-have-a-good/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) [Explore all 171 Garry Winogrand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) ## More Gun quotes > [When you reach that competing point, when you reach that time when the gun is about to go off, everyone's level is pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/when-you-reach-that-competing-point-when-you-reach-that-time-when-the/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [I'm OK with guns in schools, if it's a security, trained security personnel. But every teacher having a gun, I don't know if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/i-m-ok-with-guns-in-schools-if-it-s-a-security-trained-security/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [I saw this anti-drug commercial that showed a kid smoking pot in his dad's room with his friend. This kid finds a gun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-saw-this-anti-drug-commercial-that-showed-a-kid-smoking-pot-in-his/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [If you reduce the guns and the ammo, you'll reduce the murders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/if-you-reduce-the-guns-and-the-ammo-you-ll-reduce-the-murders/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/) Daniel D. Polsby > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/only-a-coward-will-use-a-gun-to-protect-and-get-respect-for-themselves/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [We have no butter... but I ask you, would you rather have butter or guns? Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/we-have-no-butter-but-i-ask-you-would-you-rather-have-butter-or-guns/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/when-personal-freedom-s-being-abused-you-have-to-move-to-limit-it/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) [Browse all 3,584 Gun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a hired gun, more or less.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garry Winogrand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gun" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/garry-winogrand-2342_gun_i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less-2496314_2496314.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was a hired gun, more or less.” — Garry Winogrand", "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": "Garry Winogrand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was a hired gun, more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-was-a-hired-gun-more-or-less/#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 } } ] } ```