--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a way my work is documentary. But I am…" description: "\"In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a photographer who has a distinct style. My photographs are a companion to the reality of the situation...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/graciela-iturbide-34542_companion_in-a-way-my-work-is-documentary-but-i-am_742343.jpg" --- # In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a… ![“In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a photographer who has a distinct style. My photographs are a companion to the reality of the situation.” quote by Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/graciela-iturbide-34542_companion_in-a-way-my-work-is-documentary-but-i-am_742343.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/graciela-iturbide-34542_companion_in-a-way-my-work-is-documentary-but-i-am_742343.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/graciela-iturbide-34542_companion_in-a-way-my-work-is-documentary-but-i-am_742343.jpg) > “In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a photographer who has a distinct style. My photographs are a companion to the reality of the situation.” [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She sees her work as documentary with a personal style, using photos to complement reality. **In simple terms:** Photos document and enhance reality. Key Takeaway Blend documentary with personal vision. Themes photography documentary personal style Mood thoughtful creative Type artistic documentary When to use this quote - gallery shows - photo essays - media projects Key Concepts visual storytelling artistic expression reality interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does style affect truth? - When does documentation become art? A Different Perspective Might blur line between fact and artistic interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [I suppose the primary intention of a documentary photographer is to document facts. My work often does this but it is not the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-billingham/i-suppose-the-primary-intention-of-a-documentary-photographer-is-to/) Richard Billingham > [The reason I call myself a documentary photographer is the idea of how photographs contain and participate in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/the-reason-i-call-myself-a-documentary-photographer-is-the-idea-of/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [...I don't see myself as a documentary photographer. I am more drawn to the image itself, rather than to the description of a scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beat-streuli/i-don-t-see-myself-as-a-documentary-photographer-i-am-more-drawn-to/) Beat Streuli > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I've been a documentary photographer for much longer than I have been a filmmaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-greenfield/i-ve-been-a-documentary-photographer-for-much-longer-than-i-have-been/) [Lauren Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-greenfield/) > [I'm sometimes called a 'documentary photographer' but... a man operating under that definition could take a sly pleasure in the disguise. Very often I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-m-sometimes-called-a-documentary-photographer-but-a-man-operating/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [In college, I actually did some work on a documentary project talking to Vietnam vets about the images of war and how it changed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-livingston/in-college-i-actually-did-some-work-on-a-documentary-project-talking/) [Ron Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-livingston/) > [I'm kind of a twisted social documentary photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-kind-of-a-twisted-social-documentary-photographer/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [The documentary photographer aims his camera at the real world to record truthfulness. At the same time, he must strive for form, to devise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strand/the-documentary-photographer-aims-his-camera-at-the-real-world-to/) [Paul Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strand/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) ## More by Graciela Iturbide > [I never use a telephoto lens. I need to be close to people. I need their complicity; I need them to be aware that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-never-use-a-telephoto-lens-i-need-to-be-close-to-people-i-need/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [The unconscious obsession that we photographers have is that wherever we go we want to find the theme that we carry inside ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/the-unconscious-obsession-that-we-photographers-have-is-that-wherever/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [I love poetry, be it in music or be it in Andrei Tarkovsky, Francesca Woodman or anyone else, I just love poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-love-poetry-be-it-in-music-or-be-it-in-andrei-tarkovsky-francesca/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [My intention, certainly, is to create something which is aesthetic but many things are implicit in the work that I do. For me photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/my-intention-certainly-is-to-create-something-which-is-aesthetic-but/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [I don't pretend to make my photographs speak the truth of what Mexico is all about. But in its villages I can feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-don-t-pretend-to-make-my-photographs-speak-the-truth-of-what-mexico/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [What the eye sees is a synthesis of who you are and all you have learned. This is what I would call the language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/what-the-eye-sees-is-a-synthesis-of-who-you-are-and-all-you-have/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [If you are a writer and you are in Rome you will have a specific connection to it, then perhaps you will go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/if-you-are-a-writer-and-you-are-in-rome-you-will-have-a-specific/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [I think that any photographer is an investigator. Photography is a pretext to know the world, to know life. To know yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-think-that-any-photographer-is-an-investigator-photography-is-a/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [In the end, photography for me is just an excuse to get to know the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/in-the-end-photography-for-me-is-just-an-excuse-to-get-to-know-the/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [A photographer without imagination is not a good photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/a-photographer-without-imagination-is-not-a-good-photographer/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [I do not understand what makes me take a picture. Cartier-Bresson talks about the decisive moment, the necessity to function with lynx eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/i-do-not-understand-what-makes-me-take-a-picture-cartier-bresson/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [When I'm taking pictures I even forget that I have a camera. When I shoot I forget about everything. Light comes, death comes, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/when-i-m-taking-pictures-i-even-forget-that-i-have-a-camera-when-i/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) > [As an artist you need to move on, you need to try new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-iturbide/as-an-artist-you-need-to-move-on-you-need-to-try-new-things/) [Graciela Iturbide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) [Explore all 14 Graciela Iturbide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-iturbide/) ## More Companion quotes > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [One must accept the fact that we have only one companion in this world, a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/one-must-accept-the-fact-that-we-have-only-one-companion-in-this/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-and-my-companions-suffer-from-a-disease-of-the-heart-which-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The adult who puts his arm around his companion in the ballroom, and the child in the roadway, skipping in a round dance -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-sachs/the-adult-who-puts-his-arm-around-his-companion-in-the-ballroom-and/) [Curt Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-sachs/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/the-thing-that-counts-most-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-choosing/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ \[A cat\] will make itself the companion of your hours of work, of loneliness, or of sadness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/a-cat-will-make-itself-the-companion-of-your-hours-of-work-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/plato-calls-complacency-the-companion-of-loneliness/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [The burning soul, the burden'd mind, In books alone companions find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/the-burning-soul-the-burden-d-mind-in-books-alone-companions-find/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) [Browse all 1,106 Companion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a way my work is documentary. But I am also a photographer who has a distinct style. 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