--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I think finding that room to make…" description: "\"...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't jump off the wall as, or detonate as dramatic, either in lighting or in form or in composition..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg" --- # ...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't… ![“...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't jump off the wall as, or detonate as dramatic, either in lighting or in form or in composition or in subject matter, but more ordinary, that's the challenge.” quote by Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg) > “...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't jump off the wall as, or detonate as dramatic, either in lighting or in form or in composition or in subject matter, but more ordinary, that's the challenge.” [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He seeks to create ordinary, subtle images that avoid dramatic excess, focusing on modest composition and lighting. **In simple terms:** Make pictures that are simple, not flashy. Key Takeaway Embrace restraint in visual storytelling. Themes art photography humility Mood contemplative introspective Type aesthetic educational When to use this quote - gallery shows - personal projects - educational workshops Key Concepts composition lighting subject matter Questions to Reflect On - What makes ordinary images compelling? - How does restraint affect viewer perception? A Different Perspective Subtlety may be overlooked by audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Composition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/) [Detonate Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detonate-dramatic-2132339/) [Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic/) [Dramatic Lighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic-lighting-2132337/) [Finding Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-room-548275/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Lighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighting/) [Make Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-pictures/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Off the wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off-the-wall/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Challenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-challenge-2132338/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Subject matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-matter/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [The problem of living in this modern world is the problem of finding room in it. The crowd principle is so universally at work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/the-problem-of-living-in-this-modern-world-is-the-problem-of-finding/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [It takes no effort to be ordinary. Ordinary is not even a challenge. You can do nothing and be ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-hopkins/it-takes-no-effort-to-be-ordinary-ordinary-is-not-even-a-challenge/) [Bernard Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-hopkins/) > [“We shouldn’t be ordinary; we should challenge ourselves and not just think inside the box. We should dare to be different and get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlena-jackson/we-shouldn-t-be-ordinary-we-should-challenge-ourselves-and-not-just/) [Charlena Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlena-jackson/) > [I like to make pictures about people who make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/i-like-to-make-pictures-about-people-who-make-a-difference/) [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/) > [I just make the pictures and where they fall is where they fall. If somebody likes them, that's always nice. And if they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-just-make-the-pictures-and-where-they-fall-is-where-they-fall-if/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I sometimes make pictures which are not up to my standard, but then it can only be said of a mediocrity that all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-lubitsch/i-sometimes-make-pictures-which-are-not-up-to-my-standard-but-then-it/) [Ernst Lubitsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-lubitsch/) > [My aim in life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can; then, at the end of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/my-aim-in-life-is-to-make-pictures-and-drawings-as-many-and-as-well/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Photography is a very forgiving medium. Anybody that can afford film and a camera can make pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-walker/photography-is-a-very-forgiving-medium-anybody-that-can-afford-film/) [Todd Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-walker/) > [I will only make pictures that I won't be ashamed to have my children see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-mayer/i-will-only-make-pictures-that-i-won-t-be-ashamed-to-have-my-children/) [Louis B. Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-mayer/) > [My eyes make pictures when they are shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/my-eyes-make-pictures-when-they-are-shut/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I try to make pictures I would want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/i-try-to-make-pictures-i-would-want-to-see/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [You should never use the camera to make your pictures. You use yourself, your experience to make the picture with the camera. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-kratochvil/you-should-never-use-the-camera-to-make-your-pictures-you-use/) [Antonin Kratochvil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-kratochvil/) > [We make pictures. At the end of the day, we create something potentially significant that did not exist at the beginning of the day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mcnally/we-make-pictures-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-create-something/) [Joe McNally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mcnally/) > [If you need to do a movie where you have an army of 10,000 soldiers, that's a very difficult thing to shoot for real.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/if-you-need-to-do-a-movie-where-you-have-an-army-of-10-000-soldiers/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [The thing that makes me want to make pictures now is just looking without many prejudices. The stuff right under your eyes is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abelardo-morell/the-thing-that-makes-me-want-to-make-pictures-now-is-just-looking/) [Abelardo Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abelardo-morell/) ## More by Larry Sultan > [...when it comes down to making work that really sings, I don't know if I can teach any of it. I don't even know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/when-it-comes-down-to-making-work-that-really-sings-i-don-t-know-if-i/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [Literature especially has an interesting relationship to photography - to observation, to description, to fiction: taking something that you see and elaborating, jamming, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/literature-especially-has-an-interesting-relationship-to-photography/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [Like a ventriloquist who laughs at his dummy's jokes, I keep trying to make photographs that seduce me into believing in the image -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/like-a-ventriloquist-who-laughs-at-his-dummy-s-jokes-i-keep-trying-to/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [I'm very interested in making the photographs look real, but a lot of them are highly synthetic. They're hybrids, located somewhere between the found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-m-very-interested-in-making-the-photographs-look-real-but-a-lot-of/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [Photography is there to construct the idea of us as a great family and we go on vacations and take these pictures and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/photography-is-there-to-construct-the-idea-of-us-as-a-great-family/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [I love making pictures, even if most of the results are lousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-love-making-pictures-even-if-most-of-the-results-are-lousy/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [Ambiguity is really important to me. Part of the difficulty facing photographers is that almost any subject matter has accumulated a representational history, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/ambiguity-is-really-important-to-me-part-of-the-difficulty-facing/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [ What's important to me is that \[photographs\] have the appearance of being documents of what goes on. I like the illusion of veracity, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/what-s-important-to-me-is-that-photographs-have-the-appearance-of/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) [Explore all 9 Larry Sultan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) ## More Challenges quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [I personally think if something's not a challenge, there's no point doing it, because you're not gonna learn much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-personally-think-if-something-s-not-a-challenge-there-s-no-point/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) [Whitney Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) > [Growing up with a parent in the army, I saw firsthand the challenges our service members face when transitioning to new jobs after time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharice-davids/growing-up-with-a-parent-in-the-army-i-saw-firsthand-the-challenges/) [Sharice Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharice-davids/) > [Nobody challenges me. I challenge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakuntala-devi/nobody-challenges-me-i-challenge-myself/) [Shakuntala Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakuntala-devi/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) [Browse all 8,851 Challenges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't jump off the wall as, or detonate as dramatic, either in lighting or in form or in composition or in subject matter, but more ordinary, that's the challenge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Sultan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictures-that-don-t-jump-off-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Challenges" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictures-that-don-t-jump-off-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/larry-sultan-44973_challenges_i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictur_1003358.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...I think finding that room to make pictures that don't jump off the wall as, or detonate as dramatic…” — Larry Sultan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Larry Sultan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...I think finding that room to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictures-that-don-t-jump-off-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/i-think-finding-that-room-to-make-pictures-that-don-t-jump-off-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```