--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In photography we possess an…" description: "\"In photography we possess an extraordinary instrument for reproduction. But photography is much more than that. Today it is [a method for bringing opti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/laszlo-moholy-nagy-24035_extraordinary_in-photography-we-possess-an-extraordina_2356157.png" --- # In photography we possess an extraordinary instrument for… ![“In photography we possess an extraordinary instrument for reproduction. But photography is much more than that. Today it is [a method for bringing optically] some thing entirely new into the world.” quote by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/laszlo-moholy-nagy-24035_extraordinary_in-photography-we-possess-an-extraordina_2356157.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/laszlo-moholy-nagy-24035_extraordinary_in-photography-we-possess-an-extraordina_2356157.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/laszlo-moholy-nagy-24035_extraordinary_in-photography-we-possess-an-extraordina_2356157.png) > “In photography we possess an extraordinary instrument for reproduction. But photography is much more than that. Today it is \[a method for bringing optically\] some thing entirely new into the world.” [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography is a tool for copying, yet it also creates novel visual experiences that reshape perception. **In simple terms:** Photography copies and creates new images. Key Takeaway Use photography to explore fresh perspectives. Themes creativity technology perception Mood inspired curious Type artistic conceptual When to use this quote - art exhibitions - advertising campaigns - educational workshops - documentary projects Key Concepts visual art innovation media theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you push photographic boundaries? - What new ideas can you convey visually? A Different Perspective It can be limited by technical constraints and audience interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reproduction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reproduction/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ Even in ordinary reproduction \[photography\] verges on facsimile. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-shore/even-in-ordinary-reproduction-photography-verges-on-facsimile/) [Stephen Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-shore/) > [Photography today is so accurate and so good that it's really so much easier just to take photographs and work from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-emsley/photography-today-is-so-accurate-and-so-good-that-it-s-really-so-much/) [Paul Emsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-emsley/) > [Sven Schumann did an interview with photographer Wolfgang Tillmans in Berlin addressing the question: What is photography today when everyone is a photographer? These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-zahm/sven-schumann-did-an-interview-with-photographer-wolfgang-tillmans-in/) [Olivier Zahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-zahm/) > [Photography today is accomplishing a lofty mission in which every German should collaborate by buying a camera. The German people is ahead of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/photography-today-is-accomplishing-a-lofty-mission-in-which-every/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [I'm always worried about the sitter - are they cold, are they hot, are they comfortable? Photography today is so accurate and so good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-emsley/i-m-always-worried-about-the-sitter-are-they-cold-are-they-hot-are/) [Paul Emsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-emsley/) > [Photography today appears to be in a state of flight... The familiar is made strange, the unfamiliar grotesque. The amateur forces his Sundays into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/photography-today-appears-to-be-in-a-state-of-flight-the-familiar-is/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [As a boy, I used to look at reproductions of Rembrandt's portraits... the people in his paintings were so real I felt I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/as-a-boy-i-used-to-look-at-reproductions-of-rembrandt-s-portraits-the/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) > [“Conception is not some genteel, quiet pastime; it’s a fierce and unforgiving team sport.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-natterson-horowitz/conception-is-not-some-genteel-quiet-pastime-it-s-a-fierce-and/) [Barbara Natterson-Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-natterson-horowitz/) > [We are still in various kinds of patriarchal systems. The very definition of patriarchy is that men control women as the means of reproduction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-are-still-in-various-kinds-of-patriarchal-systems-the-very/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [A camera is wild in just about anybody's hands, therefore one must set limits. But cameras have a life of their own. Cameras care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/a-camera-is-wild-in-just-about-anybody-s-hands-therefore-one-must-set/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [My music must be an artistic reproduction of human speech in all its finest shades. That is, the sounds of human speech, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/my-music-must-be-an-artistic-reproduction-of-human-speech-in-all-its/) Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky > [If this labourer were in possession of his own means of production, and was satisfied to live as a labourer, he need not work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-this-labourer-were-in-possession-of-his-own-means-of-production/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I wonder if most people ever ask themselves why love is connected with reproduction. And if they do ask themselves about this, I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/i-wonder-if-most-people-ever-ask-themselves-why-love-is-connected/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The human egg is a Mrs. Bennet, desperate to marry off her daughters...It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sperm must be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-gregory/the-human-egg-is-a-mrs-bennet-desperate-to-marry-off-her-daughters-it/) [Daryl Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-gregory/) ## More by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy > [We have - through a hundred years of photography and two decades of film - been enormously enriched... We may say we see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/we-have-through-a-hundred-years-of-photography-and-two-decades-of/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [Everyone will be compelled to see that which is optically true, is explicable in its own terms, is objective, before he can arrive at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/everyone-will-be-compelled-to-see-that-which-is-optically-true-is/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as the pen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-illiterate-of-the-future-will-be-the-person-ignorant-of-the-use/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [A dwelling should be not a retreat from space, but life in space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/a-dwelling-should-be-not-a-retreat-from-space-but-life-in-space/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The photogram, image formation outside the camera is the real key to photography,it embodies the essence... that allows us to capture light on light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-photogram-image-formation-outside-the-camera-is-the-real-key-to/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [It cannot be too plainly stated that it is quite unimportant whether photography produces 'art' or not. Its own basic laws, not the opinions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/it-cannot-be-too-plainly-stated-that-it-is-quite-unimportant-whether/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The invention of photography destroyed the canons of representational, imitative art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-invention-of-photography-destroyed-the-canons-of-representational/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [Design is the organization of materials and processes in the most productive way, in a harmonious balance of all elements necessary for a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/design-is-the-organization-of-materials-and-processes-in-the-most/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [Designing is not a profession but an attitude. Design has many connotations. It is the organization of materials and processes in the most productive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/designing-is-not-a-profession-but-an-attitude-design-has-many/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [In photography we must learn to seek, not the 'picture,' not the aesthetic of tradition, but the ideal instrument of expression, the self-sufficient vehicle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/in-photography-we-must-learn-to-seek-not-the-picture-not-the/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The photogram, or camera-less record of forms produced by light, which embodies the unique nature of the photographic process, is the real key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-photogram-or-camera-less-record-of-forms-produced-by-light-which/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The reality of our century is technology: the invention, construction and maintenance of machines. To be a user of machines is to be of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-reality-of-our-century-is-technology-the-invention-construction/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [Photography, when used as a representational art, is not a mere copy of nature. This is proved by the rarity of the 'good' photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/photography-when-used-as-a-representational-art-is-not-a-mere-copy-of/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [The experience of space is not a privilege of the gifted few, but a biological function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-experience-of-space-is-not-a-privilege-of-the-gifted-few-but-a/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [Design... is the integration of technological, social, and economical requirements, biological necessities, and the psychological effects of materials, shape, color, volume and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/design-is-the-integration-of-technological-social-and-economical/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) [Explore all 25 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) ## More Extraordinary quotes > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Newspapers have an extraordinary amount of local content, including real estate listings and restaurant reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/newspapers-have-an-extraordinary-amount-of-local-content-including/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [The contributions being made by Latinos are extraordinary, and we need to talk about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/the-contributions-being-made-by-latinos-are-extraordinary-and-we-need/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [Jeb Bush was supposed to be the establishment candidate, but he didn't catch on. And the extraordinary thing about this Republican primary is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/jeb-bush-was-supposed-to-be-the-establishment-candidate-but-he-didn-t/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [We are very fortunate to be recognized here in such an extraordinary manner for work that we enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/we-are-very-fortunate-to-be-recognized-here-in-such-an-extraordinary/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) > [My books are about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-robards/my-books-are-about-ordinary-people-caught-up-in-extraordinary/) [Karen Robards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-robards/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [It isn't necessary to seek out adventure. Opening to what is around you will produce the most extraordinary experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-lewis/it-isn-t-necessary-to-seek-out-adventure-opening-to-what-is-around/) Edward B. Lewis > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) Browse all 2,906 Extraordinary quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In photography we possess an extraordinary instrument for reproduction. But photography is much more than that. 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