--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the beginning of my photography I…" description: "\"In the beginning of my photography I controlled everything: rearranging the room, lighting it, and telling people what to do and where to put their han..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/philip-lorca-dicorcia-48799_compassion_in-the-beginning-of-my-photography-i-con_2492024.jpg" --- # In the beginning of my photography I controlled… ![“In the beginning of my photography I controlled everything: rearranging the room, lighting it, and telling people what to do and where to put their hands. By the last project, I was basically totally at the mercy of serendipity.” quote by Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/philip-lorca-dicorcia-48799_compassion_in-the-beginning-of-my-photography-i-con_2492024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/philip-lorca-dicorcia-48799_compassion_in-the-beginning-of-my-photography-i-con_2492024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ba/philip-lorca-dicorcia-48799_compassion_in-the-beginning-of-my-photography-i-con_2492024.jpg) > “In the beginning of my photography I controlled everything: rearranging the room, lighting it, and telling people what to do and where to put their hands. By the last project, I was basically totally at the mercy of serendipity.” [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early in his career he controlled every photographic element, but later embraced randomness and serendipity. **In simple terms:** He moved from strict control to embracing chance. Key Takeaway Embrace unpredictability in creative work. Themes photography creativity control serendipity Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - photo shoots - studio work - street photography - exhibitions Key Concepts artistic process author expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance planning and spontaneity? - When does serendipity enhance art? A Different Perspective Control can limit artistic growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Controlled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controlled/) [Controlled Rearranging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controlled-rearranging-973345/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Lighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighting/) [Lighting Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighting-telling-973346/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Controlled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-controlled-973344/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Rearranging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rearranging/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Serendipity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serendipity/) ## Related quotes > [But I hope I will never have a life that is not surrounded by books, by books that are bound in paper and cloth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/but-i-hope-i-will-never-have-a-life-that-is-not-surrounded-by-books/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [I look at the books on my library shelves. They certainly seem dormant. But what if the characters are quietly rearranging themselves? What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verlyn-klinkenborg/i-look-at-the-books-on-my-library-shelves-they-certainly-seem-dormant/) [Verlyn Klinkenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verlyn-klinkenborg/) > [There are a lot of things not going well for Microsoft right now - Microsoft reorganization appears to be rearranging the chairs on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hartung/there-are-a-lot-of-things-not-going-well-for-microsoft-right-now/) [Adam Hartung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hartung/) > [The moment you fall in love feels like it has centuries behind it, generations - all of them rearranging themselves so this precise, remarkable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-moment-you-fall-in-love-feels-like-it-has-centuries-behind-it/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Every copywriter knows what it is to struggle with a copy for hours, for days - fixing it, polishing it, rearranging it. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-caples/every-copywriter-knows-what-it-is-to-struggle-with-a-copy-for-hours/) [John Caples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-caples/) > [There are times when the world is rearranging itself, and at times like that, the right words can change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/there-are-times-when-the-world-is-rearranging-itself-and-at-times/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Rearranging pieces, like it's all we know It's all we know, let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blessthefall/rearranging-pieces-like-it-s-all-we-know-it-s-all-we-know-let-it-go/) [Blessthefall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blessthefall/) > [I explain to everyone I deal with-co-workers, children, friends-that I'm transitionally challenged and they should call me on my cell phone if I'm even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-explain-to-everyone-i-deal-with-co-workers-children-friends-that-i/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“You may have success with rearranging things so that the spot is no longer able to accumulate stuff, or you may need to add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hoffman/you-may-have-success-with-rearranging-things-so-that-the-spot-is-no/) [Rachel Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hoffman/) > [We learn by rearranging what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/we-learn-by-rearranging-what-we-know/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Blending is just like writing lyrics or finishing up the song, rearranging and arranging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/blending-is-just-like-writing-lyrics-or-finishing-up-the-song/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [“Life was rearranging itself; bulging in places, fraying in spots. Sometimes leaving holes big enough to see through, or even step through, to somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-rae-perkins/life-was-rearranging-itself-bulging-in-places-fraying-in-spots/) [Lynne Rae Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-rae-perkins/) > [“Feral rearranging. Letting form ferment. Letting form pass through you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/feral-rearranging-letting-form-ferment-letting-form-pass-through-you/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [I am so tired of rearranging my life around what the stupidest people might do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-am-so-tired-of-rearranging-my-life-around-what-the-stupidest-people/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/it-is-well-for-people-who-think-to-change-their-minds-occasionally-in/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) ## More by Philip-Lorca diCorcia > [Photography... unites the obvious and the unconscious at the level of the limimal - the border between what we see and what we suspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-unites-the-obvious-and-the-unconscious-at-the-level-of/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [The deepest motivation for a lot of artists is obviously the one they all share: their great fear they are a fraud. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/the-deepest-motivation-for-a-lot-of-artists-is-obviously-the-one-they/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [Photography is a foreign language everyone thinks he speaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-is-a-foreign-language-everyone-thinks-he-speaks/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [There's a reductiveness to photography, of course - in the framing of reality and the exclusion of chunks of it (the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/there-s-a-reductiveness-to-photography-of-course-in-the-framing-of/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [The more specific the interpretation suggested by a picture, the less happy I am with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/the-more-specific-the-interpretation-suggested-by-a-picture-the-less/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [ \[Photography is a\] hair-raising joy ride in a medium that, despite being a mechanical trick, can break down the division between mind and matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-is-a-hair-raising-joy-ride-in-a-medium-that-despite-being/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [Reality has become a parallel universe with photographers returning with different versions of what it truly looks like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/reality-has-become-a-parallel-universe-with-photographers-returning/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) [Explore all 8 Philip-Lorca diCorcia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the beginning of my photography I controlled everything: rearranging the room, lighting it, and telling people what to do and where to put their hands. 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