--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think my pictures are really about a…" description: "\"I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension between my need to make a perfect picture and the impossibility of doing so. Something always fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/gregory-crewdson-16134_certain_i-think-my-pictures-are-really-about-a-k_968359.jpg" --- # I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension… ![“I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension between my need to make a perfect picture and the impossibility of doing so. Something always fails, there's always a problem, and photography fails in a certain sense... This is what drives you to the next picture.” quote by Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/gregory-crewdson-16134_certain_i-think-my-pictures-are-really-about-a-k_968359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/gregory-crewdson-16134_certain_i-think-my-pictures-are-really-about-a-k_968359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/gregory-crewdson-16134_certain_i-think-my-pictures-are-really-about-a-k_968359.jpg) > “I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension between my need to make a perfect picture and the impossibility of doing so. Something always fails, there's always a problem, and photography fails in a certain sense... This is what drives you to the next picture.” [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist grapples with the desire for perfection versus the inevitable imperfections, using failure as motivation for continual improvement. **In simple terms:** Perfection is impossible; failure drives new work. Key Takeaway Use setbacks as fuel for the next creation. Themes art perfectionism creativity Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - studio work - personal projects - creative blocks Key Concepts process imperfection motivation Questions to Reflect On - What can you learn from each photographic flaw? - How does embracing imperfection shape your style? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress if not balanced with acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impossibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossibility/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Tension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tension/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The persistent problem in photography is how to look at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-maddow/the-persistent-problem-in-photography-is-how-to-look-at-it/) [Ben Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-maddow/) > [Aesthetics does not exist for the camera as an isolated entity. Aesthetics, in fact, is inseparable from the purpose of the photographer and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-grossman/aesthetics-does-not-exist-for-the-camera-as-an-isolated-entity/) Sid Grossman > [Most of my pictures are really small statements. There's a banality to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-marclay/most-of-my-pictures-are-really-small-statements-there-s-a-banality-to/) [Christian Marclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-marclay/) > [I really like sometimes to do action pictures; I get a really big kick out of doing those.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/i-really-like-sometimes-to-do-action-pictures-i-get-a-really-big-kick/) [Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/) > [My pictures really finish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/my-pictures-really-finish-themselves/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [When I was in high school and college, I thought everybody could think in pictures. And my first inkling to my thinking was even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/when-i-was-in-high-school-and-college-i-thought-everybody-could-think/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [I'm a visual thinker. Research tells us that only 20 per cent of people think visually. So what about the other 80 per cent?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-m-a-visual-thinker-research-tells-us-that-only-20-per-cent-of/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I don't think in words; I think in pictures, in images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/i-don-t-think-in-words-i-think-in-pictures-in-images/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/sometimes-i-think-all-my-pictures-are-just-pictures-of-me/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [How do you have a think in pictures? Well, you have to sort the pictures into categories. You know, for example, a dog knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/how-do-you-have-a-think-in-pictures-well-you-have-to-sort-the/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-power-to-make-us-rich-or-poor/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Everything I think is in pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/everything-i-think-is-in-pictures/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [I never want to make a child worried or afraid, and I don't think I do. My pictures are born from the belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-browne/i-never-want-to-make-a-child-worried-or-afraid-and-i-don-t-think-i-do/) [Anthony Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-browne/) > [I think all my pictures are ideas, and they're ideas made into images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-stern/i-think-all-my-pictures-are-ideas-and-they-re-ideas-made-into-images/) [Bert Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-stern/) > [The thing is that when you don't carry a camera, that's when you see pictures in particular, or at least that's when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/the-thing-is-that-when-you-don-t-carry-a-camera-that-s-when-you-see/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) ## More by Gregory Crewdson > [Originally, one of the reasons I was drawn to photography, as opposed to painting or sculpture or installation, is that of all the arts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/originally-one-of-the-reasons-i-was-drawn-to-photography-as-opposed/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [The suburban landscape is alien and strange and exotic. I photograph it out of longing and desire. My photographs are also about repression and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/the-suburban-landscape-is-alien-and-strange-and-exotic-i-photograph/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I was really fixated when I was a child. Again my mother was just talking to me about this, about how I would how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-was-really-fixated-when-i-was-a-child-again-my-mother-was-just/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [All my pictures are very voyeuristic, but ultimately I'm looking at what lurks in my own interior. I make photographs because I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/all-my-pictures-are-very-voyeuristic-but-ultimately-i-m-looking-at/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I never know what to call the subjects in my pictures because I'm uncomfortable with the word actor. I think maybe subjects might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-never-know-what-to-call-the-subjects-in-my-pictures-because-i-m/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [It is really important to have an obsessive need to construct something, to understand something from your own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/it-is-really-important-to-have-an-obsessive-need-to-construct/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [There's a parallel between me going through these enormous efforts to try to make a moment that means something - and in a way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/there-s-a-parallel-between-me-going-through-these-enormous-efforts-to/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [What the artist attempts to do is to try and tell a story. Attempting to give physical expression to a story that's internal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/what-the-artist-attempts-to-do-is-to-try-and-tell-a-story-attempting/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I have always been fascinated by the poetic condition of twilight. By its transformative quality. Its power of turning the ordinary into something magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-poetic-condition-of-twilight-by/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [My pictures are about everyday life combined with theatrical effect. I want them to feel outside of time, to take something routine and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/my-pictures-are-about-everyday-life-combined-with-theatrical-effect-i/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I want to privilege the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-want-to-privilege-the-moment/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I'm very moved by the fact that people are drawn into the pictures and that they do bring their own history and their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-m-very-moved-by-the-fact-that-people-are-drawn-into-the-pictures/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [I was never conscious of filming except for when I was location scouting. In a way, that is the most important part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/i-was-never-conscious-of-filming-except-for-when-i-was-location/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [My mom just recently reminded me that I used to build these little miniature worlds outside at our country house and populate it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/my-mom-just-recently-reminded-me-that-i-used-to-build-these-little/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [My pictures are about a search for a moment—a perfect moment. To me the most powerful moment in the whole process is when everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/my-pictures-are-about-a-search-for-a-moment-a-perfect-moment-to-me/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) [Explore all 40 Gregory Crewdson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/) [Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) Browse all 13,673 Certain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think my pictures are really about a kind of tension between my need to make a perfect picture and the impossibility of doing so. Something always fails, there's always a problem, and photography fails in a certain sense... 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