--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While photography to Cartier-Bresson is…" description: "\"While photography to Cartier-Bresson is constantly an intuitive process, it is never purely instinctive. It is founded on continuous intellection, on c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/lincoln-kirstein-34134_accidents_while-photography-to-cartier-bresson-is_1293638.png" --- # While photography to Cartier-Bresson is constantly an… ![“While photography to Cartier-Bresson is constantly an intuitive process, it is never purely instinctive. It is founded on continuous intellection, on ceaseless consideration during all moments previous to, or preparatory for, the pressing. It does not only operate in the blinding flash of a moment…” quote by Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/lincoln-kirstein-34134_accidents_while-photography-to-cartier-bresson-is_1293638.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/lincoln-kirstein-34134_accidents_while-photography-to-cartier-bresson-is_1293638.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/lincoln-kirstein-34134_accidents_while-photography-to-cartier-bresson-is_1293638.png) > “While photography to Cartier-Bresson is constantly an intuitive process, it is never purely instinctive. It is founded on continuous intellection, on ceaseless consideration during all moments previous to, or preparatory for, the pressing. It does not only operate in the blinding flash of a moment seized; it works all the time. The snatched picture merely cuts across the vein of observable incident or accident which is always beating, whether or not the fingers actually press.” [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography blends instinct with deliberate thought; true skill arises from constant mental preparation, not just fleeting moments. **In simple terms:** Good photos need both intuition and careful thinking. Key Takeaway Practice thoughtful observation before shooting. Themes photography intuition mindfulness Mood contemplative inspired Type artistic instructional When to use this quote - street photography - portrait sessions - documentary work - photojournalism Key Concepts visual perception creative process preparation Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare mentally before a shoot? - What role does reflection play in your creative process? A Different Perspective Relying solely on instinct can miss deeper context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Cartier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cartier/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Intuitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitive/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [Even the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, with all due respect to him, are notoriously burned and dodged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/even-the-photographs-of-henri-cartier-bresson-with-all-due-respect-to/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [When I was just starting out, I met Cartier-Bresson. He wasn't young in age but, in his mind, he was the youngest person I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/when-i-was-just-starting-out-i-met-cartier-bresson-he-wasn-t-young-in/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I'm a big fan of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the French photographer who had that whole "decisive moment" approach to taking pictures, of having multiple elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-zinner/i-m-a-big-fan-of-henri-cartier-bresson-the-french-photographer-who/) [Nick Zinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-zinner/) > [“Enjoy a drink at the Hôtel Scribe (6; 1 rue Scribe), where Cartier-Bresson feted the liberation of Paris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-henry-de-tessan/enjoy-a-drink-at-the-h-tel-scribe-6-1-rue-scribe-where-cartier/) Christina Henry De Tessan > [It's kind of an intuitive process. I wish that it were more systematic, but it just isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/it-s-kind-of-an-intuitive-process-i-wish-that-it-were-more-systematic/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [It's a pretty intuitive process, picking the projects that I want to get involved with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/it-s-a-pretty-intuitive-process-picking-the-projects-that-i-want-to/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [Looking at and shaping your own work is a very intuitive process. You see something you've written in your notebook. It's there on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/looking-at-and-shaping-your-own-work-is-a-very-intuitive-process-you/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“When we embrace our Intuition, be embrace a new way of living...The intuitive process is an adventure. There are new discoveries around every corner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chestney/when-we-embrace-our-intuition-be-embrace-a-new-way-of-living-the/) [Kim Chestney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chestney/) > [When I'm drafting, I suppose it's an intuitive process - figuring out when something just has a surreal glaze on it and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/when-i-m-drafting-i-suppose-it-s-an-intuitive-process-figuring-out/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [All of my songs are trial-and-error until each part is successfully hitting me in the way that I can feel. But I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/all-of-my-songs-are-trial-and-error-until-each-part-is-successfully/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [Suppose Cartier-Bresson asked the man who jumped the puddle to do it again --- it never would have been the same. Start stealing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/suppose-cartier-bresson-asked-the-man-who-jumped-the-puddle-to-do-it/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [Some of the people who are now manipulating photos, such as Andreas Gursky, make the argument - rightly - that the 'straight' photographs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/some-of-the-people-who-are-now-manipulating-photos-such-as-andreas/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I like to browse in Cartier, Chanel and Gucci and if something special grabs my eye I splash out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-snowdon/i-like-to-browse-in-cartier-chanel-and-gucci-and-if-something-special/) [Lisa Snowdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-snowdon/) > [All brands, whether high-ticket luxury ones such as Cartier or Rolls-Royce or 'masstige' ones with luxe-y overtones but altogether more affordable, all want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-york/all-brands-whether-high-ticket-luxury-ones-such-as-cartier-or-rolls/) [Peter York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-york/) > [In an era when museum curators were busy introducing the public to photographs of daily life taken by Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Diane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-silverman/in-an-era-when-museum-curators-were-busy-introducing-the-public-to/) [Burton Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-silverman/) ## More by Lincoln Kirstein > [I've always had the idea that we were conducting a military operation. It always seemed to me to be in a state of emergency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/i-ve-always-had-the-idea-that-we-were-conducting-a-military-operation/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [She was chronologically in luck. She corresponded to necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/she-was-chronologically-in-luck-she-corresponded-to-necessity/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [The candid camera is the greatest liar in the photographic family… It is anarchic, naïve, and superficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/the-candid-camera-is-the-greatest-liar-in-the-photographic-family-it/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [“If there is a hero, it is choreography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/if-there-is-a-hero-it-is-choreography/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Transplanting the ballet to the United States is like trying to raise a palm tree in Dakota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/transplanting-the-ballet-to-the-united-states-is-like-trying-to-raise/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Harvard was a kind of luxurious afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/harvard-was-a-kind-of-luxurious-afternoon/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [“I mean, if you have any idea of any kind of complexity or immensity or destiny, of general order, you're put in a position…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/i-mean-if-you-have-any-idea-of-any-kind-of-complexity-or-immensity-or/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Ballet dancers are a self-chosen elite. To survive and surmount years of disciplinary preparation and seasons of even more arduous performance requires rigid determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/ballet-dancers-are-a-self-chosen-elite-to-survive-and-surmount-years/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [The domain of the ballet dancer is not earth but air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/the-domain-of-the-ballet-dancer-is-not-earth-but-air/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Dance design is not simply one element; it is that without which ballet cannot exist. As aria is to opera, words to poetry, color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/dance-design-is-not-simply-one-element-it-is-that-without-which/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority and absolute freedom in a necessity of order, has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy-the-traditional-classic/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [He was trained as a dancer, and he had both a dancer's body and a dancer's capacity. He incarnated for me the most appealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/he-was-trained-as-a-dancer-and-he-had-both-a-dancer-s-body-and-a/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [If one had to define one essential gift with which a dancer needs to be endowed, there might be a rush of answers. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/if-one-had-to-define-one-essential-gift-with-which-a-dancer-needs-to/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) [Explore all 14 Lincoln Kirstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. 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