--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every photograph is a fiction with…" description: "\"Every photograph is a fiction with pretensions to truth. Despite everything that we have been inculcated, all that we believe, photography always lies;..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/joan-fontcuberta-39488_believe_every-photograph-is-a-fiction-with-prete_2352460.jpg" --- # Every photograph is a fiction with pretensions to truth… ![“Every photograph is a fiction with pretensions to truth. Despite everything that we have been inculcated, all that we believe, photography always lies; it lies instinctively, lies because its nature does not allow it to do anything else.” quote by Joan Fontcuberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/joan-fontcuberta-39488_believe_every-photograph-is-a-fiction-with-prete_2352460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/joan-fontcuberta-39488_believe_every-photograph-is-a-fiction-with-prete_2352460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/joan-fontcuberta-39488_believe_every-photograph-is-a-fiction-with-prete_2352460.jpg) > “Every photograph is a fiction with pretensions to truth. Despite everything that we have been inculcated, all that we believe, photography always lies; it lies instinctively, lies because its nature does not allow it to do anything else.” [Joan Fontcuberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-fontcuberta/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography presents a constructed narrative, inherently deceptive despite its claim to truth. **In simple terms:** Photos are fictions pretending to be true. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate images for hidden biases. Themes photography truth fiction perception media Mood analytical skeptical Type artistic critical When to use this quote - journalism - advertising - social media - art exhibitions Key Concepts visual studies epistemology critical theory Questions to Reflect On - Why do we trust photos? - How can we discern truth in images? A Different Perspective May discount documentary value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Instinctively Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinctively-lies-5731101/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies Instinctively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-instinctively-5731100/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-fiction-5731099/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-lies-497746/) [Pretension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretension/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The simplicity of photography lies in the fact that it is very easy to make a picture. 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We've always had an underdog vibe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-everything-about-philadelphia-and-its-food-is-like-the-city/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [This man, who for twenty-five years has been reading and writing about art, and in all that time has never understood anything about art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/this-man-who-for-twenty-five-years-has-been-reading-and-writing-about/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/the-only-good-in-pretending-is-the-fun-we-get-out-of-fooling/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [... semantics ... is a sober and modest discipline which has no pretensions of being a universal patent-medicine for all the ills and diseases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tarski/semantics-is-a-sober-and-modest-discipline-which-has-no-pretensions/) [Alfred Tarski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tarski/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. 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Thus it is the responsibility of photographers to not contribute with anaesthetic images but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-fontcuberta/photography-is-a-tool-to-negotiate-our-idea-of-reality-thus-it-is-the/) [Joan Fontcuberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-fontcuberta/) > [Among photojournalists there is still a sense that doing a photomontage is far graver than adding a filter. I am against this type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-fontcuberta/among-photojournalists-there-is-still-a-sense-that-doing-a/) [Joan Fontcuberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-fontcuberta/) > [There are religions in which the representation of the world is banned as an usurpation of the power of a God, creator of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-fontcuberta/there-are-religions-in-which-the-representation-of-the-world-is/) [Joan Fontcuberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-fontcuberta/) [Explore all 10 Joan Fontcuberta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-fontcuberta/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every photograph is a fiction with pretensions to truth. 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