Important things Quote by Robert Doisneau
“I like people for their weaknesses and faults. I get on well with ordinary people. We talk. We start with the weather, and little by little we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were examining them with a magnifying class, like a cold and scientific observer. It's very brotherly. And it's better, isn't it, to shed some light on those people who are never in the limelight.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Art of Street Photography, 1995
Doisneau values ordinary people, photographing them with warmth rather than clinical distance, aiming to illuminate everyday lives.
In simple terms: He captures everyday people with empathy, not detachment.
Key Takeaway
Seek genuine connection when documenting others.
Themes
humanity
empathy
everyday life
Mood
reflective
inspirational
Type
philosophical
artistic
When to use this quote
- street photography
- community projects
- exhibitions
Key Concepts
photography ethics
visual storytelling
Questions to Reflect On
- How does empathy change the narrative of a photograph?
- What boundaries should a photographer respect?
A Different Perspective
Risk of romanticizing subjects and overlooking deeper complexities.
![“[Cameras] tend to turn people into things and the photograph extends and multiplies the human image to the proportions of mass-produced merchandise and, [in the age of photography] the world itself becomes a sort of museum of objects that have been encountered before in some other museum and to…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d5a/marshall-mcluhan-641_age_cameras-tend-to-turn-people-into-things_323133.jpg)
![“It is so hard and long before a student comes to a realization that these [first] few large simple spots in right relations are the most important things in the study of painting. They are the fundamentals of all painting.” quote by Charles Webster Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e77/charles-webster-hawthorne-1729_artist_it-is-so-hard-and-long-before-a-student_12666.jpg)
