--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make a photograph is already the first…" description: "\"To make a photograph is already the first artificial act.\" — Gerhard Richter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/gerhard-richter-2249_artificial_to-make-a-photograph-is-already-the-firs_987188.jpg" --- # To make a photograph is already the first artificial act. ![“To make a photograph is already the first artificial act.” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/gerhard-richter-2249_artificial_to-make-a-photograph-is-already-the-firs_987188.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/gerhard-richter-2249_artificial_to-make-a-photograph-is-already-the-firs_987188.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/gerhard-richter-2249_artificial_to-make-a-photograph-is-already-the-firs_987188.jpg) > “To make a photograph is already the first artificial act.” [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating a photograph is an intentional act that imposes artistic intent onto reality. **In simple terms:** Photographing is an artistic act. Key Takeaway Recognize photography’s creative agency. Themes art photography creation reality perception Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - exhibitions - documentary work - personal projects - visual storytelling Key Concepts visual art theory media studies Questions to Reflect On - How does intention shape a photo? - When is spontaneity valuable? A Different Perspective May overlook spontaneous moments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artificial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial/) [Artificial Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial-act-1998624/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Make Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-photograph-357565/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Artificial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-artificial-1998623/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-have-always-done-the-opposite-of-what-i-was-trained-to-do-having/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Does getting closer to the subject make the photograph more intimate? I'm sure it takes more than that. What comes next? The face, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-barney/does-getting-closer-to-the-subject-make-the-photograph-more-intimate/) [Tina Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-barney/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Say what you mean. Say what you see. Make a photograph, if you can, for the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/say-what-you-mean-say-what-you-see-make-a-photograph-if-you-can-for/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You want to make the photograph work in every way possible. 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You can then make the photograph you desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/if-you-have-enough-craft-you-ve-done-your-homework-and-you-re/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [If 5 seconds of smile can make a photograph more beautiful then just imagine, if you keep always smiling, how beautiful your life will be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-5-seconds-of-smile-can-make-a-photograph-more-beautiful-then-just-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I make a photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-contained, whose basic condition is order (unlike the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-siskind/when-i-make-a-photograph-i-want-it-to-be-an-altogether-new-object/) [Aaron Siskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-siskind/) > [If 5 seconds of smile can make a photograph more beautiful. Then just imagine if you keep always smiling how beautiful your life will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/if-5-seconds-of-smile-can-make-a-photograph-more-beautiful-then-just/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [Photography is the most transparent of the art mediums devised or discovered by man. It is probably for this reason that it proves so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/photography-is-the-most-transparent-of-the-art-mediums-devised-or/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [My way in for photographing people is really their work. I'm always interested in what people make, and then I photograph the person. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/my-way-in-for-photographing-people-is-really-their-work-i-m-always/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) ## More by Gerhard Richter > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [They are specific places I have discovered here and there when I am on the road to take photos. I go especially to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/they-are-specific-places-i-have-discovered-here-and-there-when-i-am/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [To me, grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape. 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