--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good photograph is one that…" description: "\"A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/irving-penn-24767_changed_a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicat_1787179.png" --- # A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches… ![“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” quote by Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/irving-penn-24767_changed_a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicat_1787179.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/irving-penn-24767_changed_a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicat_1787179.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/irving-penn-24767_changed_a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicat_1787179.png) > “A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A great photo conveys factual truth, evokes emotion, and transforms the viewer. **In simple terms:** Effective photos tell truth and move hearts. Key Takeaway Create images that change people. Themes art communication emotion Mood thoughtful inspirational Type artistic educational When to use this quote - journalism - advertising - personal projects - exhibitions Key Concepts visual storytelling perception impact Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does your photo evoke? - How does it alter your view of the subject? A Different Perspective Impact may be limited by viewer bias or context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Changed person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed-person/) [Digital photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital-photography/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Film photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-photography/) [Good photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-photography/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspirational photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-photography/) [Inspiring photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring-photography/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Viewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewers/) ## Related quotes > [You don't make a photograph just with a camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/you-don-t-make-a-photograph-just-with-a-camera/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times...I just shoot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/nothing-happens-when-you-sit-at-home-i-always-make-it-a-point-to/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [The important thing is not the camera but the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/the-important-thing-is-not-the-camera-but-the-eye/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/a-great-photograph-is-a-full-expression-of-what-one-feels/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The only advantage of the CD is that you have a booklet that can tell a bit of a story, but the little covers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/the-only-advantage-of-the-cd-is-that-you-have-a-booklet-that-can-tell/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/personally-i-have-always-preferred-inspiration-to-information/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [It's one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it's another thing to make a portrait of who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/it-s-one-thing-to-make-a-picture-of-what-a-person-looks-like-it-s/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [I regard photography and film simply as new technical means which painters must absolutely make use of, just as from time out of mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazimir-malevich/i-regard-photography-and-film-simply-as-new-technical-means-which/) [Kazimir Malevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazimir-malevich/) > [... the reason we think that computer graphics technology has succeeded in faking reality is that we, over the course of the last hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-manovich/the-reason-we-think-that-computer-graphics-technology-has-succeeded/) [Lev Manovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-manovich/) > [I am trying to make some kind of connection to what is going on in the world, to make some sort of contact. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-golub/i-am-trying-to-make-some-kind-of-connection-to-what-is-going-on-in/) [Leon Golub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-golub/) > [Micro-looking processes that are human are what I was interested in. How can you use the camera to mime the way that we look?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramell-ross/micro-looking-processes-that-are-human-are-what-i-was-interested-in/) [RaMell Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramell-ross/) > [Ultimately photography is about who you are. It's the truth in relation to yourself. And seeking truth becomes a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-freed/ultimately-photography-is-about-who-you-are-it-s-the-truth-in/) [Leonard Freed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-freed/) > [It's the first time that I've ever had an art show based on a film, but it's a photography collage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/it-s-the-first-time-that-i-ve-ever-had-an-art-show-based-on-a-film/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I don't want to knock photography, and I don't feel that film is up there but photography isn't. I think they're next to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/i-don-t-want-to-knock-photography-and-i-don-t-feel-that-film-is-up/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [Kodak sells film, but they don't advertise film; they advertise memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/kodak-sells-film-but-they-don-t-advertise-film-they-advertise-memories/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) ## More by Irving Penn > [Photographing a cake can be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/photographing-a-cake-can-be-art/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-am-a-professional-photographer-because-it-is-the-best-way-i-know-to/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [A beautiful print is a thing in itself, not just a halfway house on the way to the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-beautiful-print-is-a-thing-in-itself-not-just-a-halfway-house-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I share with many people the feeling that there is a sweetness and constancy to light that falls into a studio from the north…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-share-with-many-people-the-feeling-that-there-is-a-sweetness-and/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I feed on art more than I ever do on photographs. I can admire photography, but I wouldn't go to it out of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-feed-on-art-more-than-i-ever-do-on-photographs-i-can-admire/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sometime in 1964 I realized that I was a victim of a printmaking obsession, a condition that persists today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sometime-in-1964-i-realized-that-i-was-a-victim-of-a-printmaking/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Liberman said to me, 'I must cut back on the work you do for Vogue. The editors don't like it. They say the photographs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/liberman-said-to-me-i-must-cut-back-on-the-work-you-do-for-vogue-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Many photographers feel their client is the subject. My client is a woman in Kansas who reads Vogue. I'm trying to intrigue, stimulate, feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/many-photographers-feel-their-client-is-the-subject-my-client-is-a/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Working on photography is working on oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/working-on-photography-is-working-on-oneself/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I've tried a few times to depart from what I know I can do, and I've failed. I've tried to work outside the studio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-ve-tried-a-few-times-to-depart-from-what-i-know-i-can-do-and-i-ve/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I can get obsessed by anything if i look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-can-get-obsessed-by-anything-if-i-look-at-it-long-enough-that-s-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [What I really try to do is photograph people at rest, in a state of serenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/what-i-really-try-to-do-is-photograph-people-at-rest-in-a-state-of/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sensitive-people-faced-with-the-prospect-of-a-camera-portrait-put-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) [Explore all 24 Irving Penn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## More Changed quotes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You made me hate my own reflection Question every choice I make So I could try to be perfect But I will try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/you-made-me-hate-my-own-reflection-question-every-choice-i-make-so-i/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [Everything has changed and nothing has changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lowery/everything-has-changed-and-nothing-has-changed/) [Joseph Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lowery/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [When I became Miss World, I couldn't believe I had won it. I used to sleep with my crown because I was scared someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/when-i-became-miss-world-i-couldn-t-believe-i-had-won-it-i-used-to/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-light-changed-from-red-to-green-to-yellow-and-back-to-red/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Working with Rihanna has changed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/working-with-rihanna-has-changed-my-life/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [The international game has changed for bidding cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ueberroth/the-international-game-has-changed-for-bidding-cities/) [Peter Ueberroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ueberroth/) > [You changed my life, don't know what you're doing to me with your love. You got me feeling super human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-changed-my-life-don-t-know-what-you-re-doing-to-me-with-your-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not changing because I'm part of a hit. People around me have changed in their attitude toward me, but I haven't changed. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-penny/i-m-not-changing-because-i-m-part-of-a-hit-people-around-me-have/) [Joe Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-penny/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) Browse all 6,529 Changed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. 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