--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Photographs also show the way that the…" description: "\"Photographs also show the way that the camera sees. It's not just me or you or anybody else. The camera does something that is different from our own s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/lee-friedlander-25581_cameras_photographs-also-show-the-way-that-the-c_1492768.jpg" --- # Photographs also show the way that the camera sees. It's… ![“Photographs also show the way that the camera sees. It's not just me or you or anybody else. The camera does something that is different from our own setting.” quote by Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/lee-friedlander-25581_cameras_photographs-also-show-the-way-that-the-c_1492768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/lee-friedlander-25581_cameras_photographs-also-show-the-way-that-the-c_1492768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/lee-friedlander-25581_cameras_photographs-also-show-the-way-that-the-c_1492768.jpg) > “Photographs also show the way that the camera sees. It's not just me or you or anybody else. The camera does something that is different from our own setting.” [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cameras capture a perspective distinct from human perception, revealing alternative visual truths. **In simple terms:** Cameras see differently than we do. Key Takeaway Explore visual differences between camera and eye. Themes photography perception art technology Mood inquisitive artistic Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - portraiture - landscape - documentary - media studies Key Concepts Semiotics visual theory Questions to Reflect On - How does camera choice affect perception? - What does this mean for visual storytelling? A Different Perspective Camera bias can distort reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) ## Related quotes > [Making photographs can be a way for me to bring something up and into consciousness, something either shared or individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbj-rn-r-dland/making-photographs-can-be-a-way-for-me-to-bring-something-up-and-into/) [Torbjørn Rødland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbj-rn-r-dland/) > [Photographs are a way of imprisoning reality, understood as recalcitrant, inaccessible; of making it stand still. Or they enlarge a reality that is felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-are-a-way-of-imprisoning-reality-understood-as-2/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Although there is a sense in which the camera does indeed capture reality, not just interpret it, photographs are as much an interpretation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/although-there-is-a-sense-in-which-the-camera-does-indeed-capture/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The camera sees more than the eye, so why not make use of it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-camera-sees-more-than-the-eye-so-why-not-make-use-of-it/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [It is said that the camera cannot lie, but rarely do we allow it to do anything else, since the camera sees what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/it-is-said-that-the-camera-cannot-lie-but-rarely-do-we-allow-it-to-do/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I began to realize that the camera sees the world differently than the human eye and that sometimes those differences can make a photograph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-rowell/i-began-to-realize-that-the-camera-sees-the-world-differently-than/) [Galen Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-rowell/) > [How difficult it is to learn not to see like cameras, which has had such an effect on us. The camera sees everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-difficult-it-is-to-learn-not-to-see-like-cameras-which-has-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Most times you do a movie every place except for what the camera sees is just a mess with the lights, people, and cameras…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-sisto/most-times-you-do-a-movie-every-place-except-for-what-the-camera-sees/) [Jeremy Sisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-sisto/) > [In classical oil painting, there seemed to be a radical turn to seeing things as the camera sees them, with that technological modification. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/in-classical-oil-painting-there-seemed-to-be-a-radical-turn-to-seeing/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [You look tight on camera, it sees it. The camera can see everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-kuechly/you-look-tight-on-camera-it-sees-it-the-camera-can-see-everything/) [Luke Kuechly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-kuechly/) > [I am not trying to be one of those sadistic, Kubrickian directors who is trying to make these tensions any worse or exploit them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/i-am-not-trying-to-be-one-of-those-sadistic-kubrickian-directors-who/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-tried-to-keep-both-arts-alive-but-the-camera-won-i-found-that-while/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Well, in terms of what a camera does. Again, you go back to that original idea that what you photograph is responsible for how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/well-in-terms-of-what-a-camera-does-again-you-go-back-to-that/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I've often said, not totally jokingly, that screenwriting doesn't really qualify as real writing at all. You don't string sentences into paragraphs. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raymond/i-ve-often-said-not-totally-jokingly-that-screenwriting-doesn-t/) [Jonathan Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raymond/) > [A camera alone does not make a picture. To make a picture you need a camera, a photographer and above all a subject. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/a-camera-alone-does-not-make-a-picture-to-make-a-picture-you-need-a/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) ## More by Lee Friedlander > [I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-only-wanted-uncle-vernon-standing-by-his-own-car-a-hudson-on-a/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [The West to me is where the landscape is,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/the-west-to-me-is-where-the-landscape-is/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [... photographs are so loaded with information. They're remarkable. As I said, you get both the tree and the forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/photographs-are-so-loaded-with-information-they-re-remarkable-as-i/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [Sometimes just the facts of the matter make it interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/sometimes-just-the-facts-of-the-matter-make-it-interesting/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [I suspect it is for one's self-interest that one looks at one's surroundings and one's self. This search is personally born and is indeed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-suspect-it-is-for-one-s-self-interest-that-one-looks-at-one-s/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [It fascinates me that there is a variety of feeling about what I do. I'm not a premeditative photographer. I see a picture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/it-fascinates-me-that-there-is-a-variety-of-feeling-about-what-i-do-i/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [When you take a picture you haven't a clue that it is going to be what it is. Maybe you have a clue but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/when-you-take-a-picture-you-haven-t-a-clue-that-it-is-going-to-be/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [With a camera like that you don't believe you're in the masterpiece business. It's enough to be able to peck at the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/with-a-camera-like-that-you-don-t-believe-you-re-in-the-masterpiece/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at YOU.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/you-don-t-have-to-go-looking-for-pictures-the-material-is-generous/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [Anything that looks like an idea is probably just something that has accumulated, like dust. It looks like I have ideas because I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/anything-that-looks-like-an-idea-is-probably-just-something-that-has/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [... a mysterious intersection of chance and attention that goes well beyond the existential surrealism of the 'decisive moment'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/a-mysterious-intersection-of-chance-and-attention-that-goes-well/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [The camera is not merely a reflecting pool and the photographs are not exactly the mirror, mirror on the wall that speaks with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/the-camera-is-not-merely-a-reflecting-pool-and-the-photographs-are/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [ \[Garry Winogrand\] was a bull of a man and the world his china shop. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/garry-winogrand-was-a-bull-of-a-man-and-the-world-his-china-shop/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [I always wanted to be a photographer. I was fascinated with the materials, but I never dreamed I would be having this much fun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-photographer-i-was-fascinated-with-the/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [If one really knew what one was doing, why do it? It seems to me if you had the answer why ask the question?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/if-one-really-knew-what-one-was-doing-why-do-it-it-seems-to-me-if-you/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) [Explore all 23 Lee Friedlander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [When I made my debut as an actor in 'Rock On!' I was confident to get in front of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/when-i-made-my-debut-as-an-actor-in-rock-on-i-was-confident-to-get-in/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) Mitra Farahani > [To be honest, I don't know... something about the camera like turns me into such a diva. Like when it's on and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/to-be-honest-i-don-t-know-something-about-the-camera-like-turns-me/) [Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/) > [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“A camera is an opening in a box: that is the best emblem of the fact that a camera holding an object is holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/a-camera-is-an-opening-in-a-box-that-is-the-best-emblem-of-the-fact/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [It's such a weird thing, because you have a whole crew of people standing over there, on the other side. There's a camera pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-such-a-weird-thing-because-you-have-a-whole-crew-of-people/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [“The camera lets me see things in a different way. It's like I finally have perspective. I can't always say stuff right in words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/the-camera-lets-me-see-things-in-a-different-way-it-s-like-i-finally/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I was so green, and my background was mostly in theater. The only thing I'd done in front of a camera, besides an infomercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-was-so-green-and-my-background-was-mostly-in-theater-the-only-thing/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [As far as lighting and blocking, camera angles and facial expressions, all that stuff that has to be very specific in film, as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/as-far-as-lighting-and-blocking-camera-angles-and-facial-expressions/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to move the camera that much anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/i-don-t-like-to-move-the-camera-that-much-anyway/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [I feel like 'Preacher's Daughter' was my Trojan horse, in a way. I'm excited to pull back, be behind the camera instead of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-feel-like-preacher-s-daughter-was-my-trojan-horse-in-a-way-i-m/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) [Browse all 2,026 Camera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Photographs also show the way that the camera sees. It's not just me or you or anybody else. 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