--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there is more to a fine photograph…" description: "\"But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/sam-abell-7768_asks_but-there-is-more-to-a-fine-photograph-t_2049134.png" --- # But there is more to a fine photograph than information… ![“But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best of all, provokes the viewer to think-to ask a question or simply to gaze in thoughtful wonder. We know that photographs inform people. We also…” quote by Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/sam-abell-7768_asks_but-there-is-more-to-a-fine-photograph-t_2049134.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/sam-abell-7768_asks_but-there-is-more-to-a-fine-photograph-t_2049134.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/sam-abell-7768_asks_but-there-is-more-to-a-fine-photograph-t_2049134.png) > “But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best of all, provokes the viewer to think-to ask a question or simply to gaze in thoughtful wonder. We know that photographs inform people. We also know that photographs move people. The photograph that does both is the one we want to see and make. It is the kind of picture that makes you want to pick up your own camera again and go to work.” [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A great photograph must both convey information and spark curiosity, prompting viewers to think, question, or marvel. **In simple terms:** Photos should inform and inspire curiosity. Key Takeaway Create images that both educate and provoke thought. Themes creativity inspiration visual storytelling Mood thoughtful inspired curious Type artistic motivational reflective When to use this quote - photojournalism - personal projects - educational material - gallery exhibitions Key Concepts aesthetic theory viewer engagement emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How can you embed a question within a visual? - What emotions do you want your image to evoke? A Different Perspective Balancing factual content with emotional impact can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask A Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-a-question/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Image Arouses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image-arouses-3852185/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Know Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-photographs-518299/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-does-3852184/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photographs Inform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-inform-3852183/) [Photographs People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-people-396979/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picks/) [Provoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provoking/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Viewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewers/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [We know that photographs inform people. We also know that photographs move people. The photograph that does both is the one we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/we-know-that-photographs-inform-people-we-also-know-that-photographs/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I know some photographs that are extraodrinary in their power and conviction, but it is difficult in photography to overcome the superficial power or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-some-photographs-that-are-extraodrinary-in-their-power-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [We pass the billboard and I console myself in two ways. First, I know that most photographs taken are a gamble at best. Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mcphee/we-pass-the-billboard-and-i-console-myself-in-two-ways-first-i-know/) [Laura McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mcphee/) > [But I do not know whether the photograph can, or does, say things as they really are. Something has been lost. But the representation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/but-i-do-not-know-whether-the-photograph-can-or-does-say-things-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [With a painting, you're taking basic building blocks and making something that's more complex than what you started with. It is a synthetic process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-shore/with-a-painting-you-re-taking-basic-building-blocks-and-making/) [Stephen Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-shore/) > [Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/unlike-any-other-visual-image-a-photograph-is-not-a-rendering-an/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [A photograph for me does not have a sense of spiritual seduction, it does not have an essence, that this is something that permeates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/a-photograph-for-me-does-not-have-a-sense-of-spiritual-seduction-it/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [The way in which the photograph records experience is also different from the way of language. Language makes sense only when it is presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-way-in-which-the-photograph-records-experience-is-also-different/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [The photograph as an objective representation of reality simply does not exist. The photograph does not explain to you what is going on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-meyer/the-photograph-as-an-objective-representation-of-reality-simply-does/) [Pedro Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-meyer/) > [In the late nineties, Katy Grannan began making haunting photographs of people who had extraordinary inner yens to be seen by strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/in-the-late-nineties-katy-grannan-began-making-haunting-photographs/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The photographs were never about me. They were always about the people who were laying their lives on the line for basic civil rights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-moore/the-photographs-were-never-about-me-they-were-always-about-the-people/) [Charles Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-moore/) > [All my life I've taken photographs of people who are completely at peace being what they were in the situations I photographed them in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jock-sturges/all-my-life-i-ve-taken-photographs-of-people-who-are-completely-at/) [Jock Sturges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jock-sturges/) > [Sometimes I've gotten photographs back and people have literally shaven off pieces of me, and I tell them to put it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/sometimes-i-ve-gotten-photographs-back-and-people-have-literally/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [I just really wanted to do art, except when I was taking those photographs of people I would make the clothes that I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sprouse/i-just-really-wanted-to-do-art-except-when-i-was-taking-those/) [Stephen Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sprouse/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) ## More by Sam Abell > [Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/photography-alone-of-the-arts-seems-perfected-to-serve-the-desire/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I did it once, and National Geographic recruited me. I did it primarily out of curiosity. A lot of legendary photographers had worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-did-it-once-and-national-geographic-recruited-me-i-did-it-primarily/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I can't speak for other photographers, but the photographers who went forward strongly when the so-called "official" part of their career ended, to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-can-t-speak-for-other-photographers-but-the-photographers-who-went/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Actually, ambition won't get you that far. You'll shift gears. You'll see something that's shinier. But if you believe... then you're the long-distance runner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/actually-ambition-won-t-get-you-that-far-you-ll-shift-gears-you-ll/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/a-mad-keen-photographer-needs-to-get-out-into-the-world-and-work-and/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I have this awareness that the more dynamic the situation is, the more on guard I need to be that the dynamic isn't controlling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-have-this-awareness-that-the-more-dynamic-the-situation-is-the-more/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [What I'm interested in is modern American history. I'm taken with the changes that have occurred in America in my lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/what-i-m-interested-in-is-modern-american-history-i-m-taken-with-the/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Essentially what photography is is life lit up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/essentially-what-photography-is-is-life-lit-up/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Life rarely presents fully finished photographs. An image evolves, often from a single strand of visual interest - a distant horizon, a moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/life-rarely-presents-fully-finished-photographs-an-image-evolves/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Photographs that transcend but do not deny their literal situation appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/photographs-that-transcend-but-do-not-deny-their-literal-situation/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I wanted life to be episodic. I wanted to be a magazine photographer and I was willing to do what it took to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-wanted-life-to-be-episodic-i-wanted-to-be-a-magazine-photographer/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [ That statement \[ Stephen Ambrose:'You, Sam, have the hardest job, which is, pretend like nothing has happened in the last 200 years.'\] woke me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/that-statement-stephen-ambrose-you-sam-have-the-hardest-job-which-is/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [The unusual wins out over the usual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-unusual-wins-out-over-the-usual/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Even though I teach with 35mm, my method takes people by surprise, because it isn't fast, and it isn't about hardware or software, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/even-though-i-teach-with-35mm-my-method-takes-people-by-surprise/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [The class that I teach is called "The Life of a Photograph." It takes up the question, of the billion photographs that were taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-class-that-i-teach-is-called-the-life-of-a-photograph-it-takes-up/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) [Explore all 87 Sam Abell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best of all, provokes the viewer to think-to ask a question or simply to gaze in thoughtful wonder. 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