--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Remember the cliche: ... \"Cameras don't…" description: "\"Remember the cliche: ... \"Cameras don't take pictures, people take pictures.\"\" — Michael Lesy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg" --- # Remember the cliche: ... "Cameras don't take pictures… ![“Remember the cliche: ... "Cameras don't take pictures, people take pictures."” quote by Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg) > “Remember the cliche: ... "Cameras don't take pictures, people take pictures."” [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The act of photographing is a human choice, not a mechanical function of the camera. **In simple terms:** People, not cameras, create images. Key Takeaway Remember agency in image‑making. Themes creativity agency technology Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - photojournalism - artistic projects - media literacy workshops - documentary filmmaking Key Concepts visual culture photography theory human perception Questions to Reflect On - How does your perspective shape what you capture? - What responsibilities come with choosing to photograph? A Different Perspective Technology still influences outcomes despite human intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Cameras Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras-don-1544862/) [Cliche Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche-cameras-3352078/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pictures People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-people-634044/) [Remember Cliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-cliche-1477560/) ## Related quotes > [Young writers should keep out of pubs and remember that the cliche way of the artistic life is a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/young-writers-should-keep-out-of-pubs-and-remember-that-the-cliche/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) > [I've always been 100%. I don't grandstand for the cameras. I don't have fake outrage or indignation. No tricks, no screaming or throwing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/i-ve-always-been-100-i-don-t-grandstand-for-the-cameras-i-don-t-have/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [I love the cameras and don't mind mailing in my check when I fail to pay attention and go too fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-thomson/i-love-the-cameras-and-don-t-mind-mailing-in-my-check-when-i-fail-to/) [Robert James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-thomson/) > [I don't really ask to take pictures of people. I kind of just get in their face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-beckham/i-don-t-really-ask-to-take-pictures-of-people-i-kind-of-just-get-in/) [Brooklyn Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-beckham/) > [Since I switched to an iPhone, I did start taking pictures of people I like. Until then, I strangely never took pictures. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/since-i-switched-to-an-iphone-i-did-start-taking-pictures-of-people-i/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [I'm pretty solitary when I take pictures. Even when I take pictures of people, I just go about my own way of doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-marcopoulos/i-m-pretty-solitary-when-i-take-pictures-even-when-i-take-pictures-of/) [Ari Marcopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-marcopoulos/) > [I like to do the pictures before people get too self-conscious. I like to be spontaneous and get a shot before the subject thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keira-knightley/i-like-to-do-the-pictures-before-people-get-too-self-conscious-i-like/) [Keira Knightley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keira-knightley/) > [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/) > [There are some people who become best friends with everyone they photograph. There are people that I really like and admire and respect, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/there-are-some-people-who-become-best-friends-with-everyone-they/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [You can get pictures into what people are sort of thinking about others. Just go onto Google and type 'Why are Indians' and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/you-can-get-pictures-into-what-people-are-sort-of-thinking-about/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [I think the artist has an ability to draw pictures for people to where they can process these messages that otherwise they wouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-think-the-artist-has-an-ability-to-draw-pictures-for-people-to/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [I see no difference between my pictures that people consider amusing and the rest. To me, it's all serious work - they're just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/i-see-no-difference-between-my-pictures-that-people-consider-amusing/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [When I go out, I kind of put a hat on and glasses, so I'm kind of just like a photographer going around taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-beckham/when-i-go-out-i-kind-of-put-a-hat-on-and-glasses-so-i-m-kind-of-just/) [Brooklyn Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-beckham/) > [I have an unusual hobby: I collect pictures of people I don't know. It started when I was a kid growing up in South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-have-an-unusual-hobby-i-collect-pictures-of-people-i-don-t-know-it/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [The Internet, of course, is more than a place to find pictures of people having sex with dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-elmer-dewitt/the-internet-of-course-is-more-than-a-place-to-find-pictures-of/) [Philip Elmer-DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-elmer-dewitt/) ## More by Michael Lesy > [My idea of a good job would be to be paid really well to sit on my ass all day to look at pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/my-idea-of-a-good-job-would-be-to-be-paid-really-well-to-sit-on-my/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [Look, I really do not care about you. What I care about is the worlds that you bear witness to. You are nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/look-i-really-do-not-care-about-you-what-i-care-about-is-the-worlds/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [For years and years and years... people showed me pictures that had been left unclaimed at big photo-finishers. Sometimes I think it changed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/for-years-and-years-and-years-people-showed-me-pictures-that-had-been/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [Photographers represented occasions once. You dressed for them as you might for church; they cost money, they recorded important moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/photographers-represented-occasions-once-you-dressed-for-them-as-you/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [By itself, an ordinary snapshot is no less banal than the petite madeleine in Proust's In Search of Lost Time... but as goad to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/by-itself-an-ordinary-snapshot-is-no-less-banal-than-the-petite/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [You faced front, you seldom smiled, since levity was not the mark you wanted put across your face forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/you-faced-front-you-seldom-smiled-since-levity-was-not-the-mark-you/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [“The choice, though, is not between scrupulous obedience and ecstatic abandon. The choice runs right down the middle. If you really want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/the-choice-though-is-not-between-scrupulous-obedience-and-ecstatic/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) [Explore all 8 Michael Lesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) ## More Cameras 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'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) [Deon Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-taylor/) > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I can look around a room and tell you if there are hidden cameras or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ash/i-can-look-around-a-room-and-tell-you-if-there-are-hidden-cameras-or/) [Lauren Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ash/) > [There's nothing like the energy in a small comedy club room or a small theater when it's going really well. I can see everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/there-s-nothing-like-the-energy-in-a-small-comedy-club-room-or-a/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [When they took me to do the camera test for the vampire make up, after they put the prosthetic on, I went though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/when-they-took-me-to-do-the-camera-test-for-the-vampire-make-up-after/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [I like acting too much and it's too, I'm just too busy doing that and I'm too hungry for it, to get behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/i-like-acting-too-much-and-it-s-too-i-m-just-too-busy-doing-that-and/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Many times I've sat with a camera and another actor and seen all their fears and insecurities and struggles. You want to support them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-eccleston/many-times-i-ve-sat-with-a-camera-and-another-actor-and-seen-all/) [Christopher Eccleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-eccleston/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitra-farahani/) > [I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-m-closer-to-being-happy-i-m-doing-things-that-make-me-happy-in/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) [Browse all 2,666 Cameras quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Remember the cliche: ... \"Cameras don't take pictures, people take pictures.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Lesy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-pictures-people-take-pictures/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cameras" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-pictures-people-take-pictures/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/michael-lesy-47932_cameras_remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-p_366352.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Remember the cliche: ... \"Cameras don't take pictures, people take pictures.\"” — Michael Lesy", "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": "Michael Lesy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Remember the cliche: ... \"Cameras don't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-pictures-people-take-pictures/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/remember-the-cliche-cameras-don-t-take-pictures-people-take-pictures/#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 } } ] } ```