--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I’ve said this before many…" description: "\"I think I’ve said this before many times—that photography allows you to learn to look and see. You begin to see things you had never paid any attention..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/saul-leiter-27327_attention_i-think-i-ve-said-this-before-many-times_2565276.png" --- # I think I’ve said this before many times—that photography… ![“I think I’ve said this before many times—that photography allows you to learn to look and see. You begin to see things you had never paid any attention to. And as you photograph, one of the benefits is that the world becomes a much richer, juicier, visual place. Sometimes it is almost unbearable…” quote by Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/saul-leiter-27327_attention_i-think-i-ve-said-this-before-many-times_2565276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/saul-leiter-27327_attention_i-think-i-ve-said-this-before-many-times_2565276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/saul-leiter-27327_attention_i-think-i-ve-said-this-before-many-times_2565276.png) > “I think I’ve said this before many times—that photography allows you to learn to look and see. You begin to see things you had never paid any attention to. And as you photograph, one of the benefits is that the world becomes a much richer, juicier, visual place. Sometimes it is almost unbearable — it is too interesting. And it isn’t always just the photos you take that matters. It is looking at the world and seeing things that you never photograph that could be photographs if you had the energy to keep taking pictures every second of your life.” [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography trains the eye to notice details, enriching perception and making everyday life more vivid. **In simple terms:** Seeing more makes life richer. Key Takeaway Practice observing daily. Themes perception creativity mindfulness Mood inspired curious Type reflective instructional When to use this quote - street photography - travel - daily walks - journaling Key Concepts visual literacy attention to detail Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay present without overloading? - What small detail can you capture today? A Different Perspective It can become overwhelming if not balanced with rest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Taking pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-pictures/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [People assumed we called the record 'Murray Street' because of its proximity to the World Trade Centre, but that wasn't it at all. Before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ranaldo/people-assumed-we-called-the-record-murray-street-because-of-its/) [Lee Ranaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ranaldo/) > [Photography allows you to learn to look and see. You begin to see things you'd never paid attention to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/photography-allows-you-to-learn-to-look-and-see-you-begin-to-see/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [There is something beautiful about photography; it allows the self to be reunited with the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-delahaye/there-is-something-beautiful-about-photography-it-allows-the-self-to/) [Luc Delahaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-delahaye/) > [The advent of the digital age and the immediacy and convenience of digital video and photography allows people to become an integral part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/the-advent-of-the-digital-age-and-the-immediacy-and-convenience-of/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [Photographing is an emotional thing, a graceful thing. Photography allows me to wander with a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-freed/photographing-is-an-emotional-thing-a-graceful-thing-photography/) [Leonard Freed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-freed/) > [ “\[Photography\] allows me to accede to an infra-knowledge; it supplies me with a collection of partial objects and can flatter a certain fetishism of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/photography-allows-me-to-accede-to-an-infra-knowledge-it-supplies-me/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Photography allows you to be a part of the action and document stories. It is a perfect extension of my body. I can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-burkard/photography-allows-you-to-be-a-part-of-the-action-and-document/) Chris Burkard > [Pure photography allows us to create portraits which render their subjects with absolute truth, truth both physical and psychological. That is the principal which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-sander/pure-photography-allows-us-to-create-portraits-which-render-their/) [August Sander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-sander/) > [The things that are close to you are the things you can photograph the best,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/the-things-that-are-close-to-you-are-the-things-you-can-photograph/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [It seemed clear to me early on that one of the things a photograph could do was make a reality, and I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-kurland/it-seemed-clear-to-me-early-on-that-one-of-the-things-a-photograph/) [Justine Kurland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-kurland/) > [ \[Cameras\] tend to turn people into things and the photograph extends and multiplies the human image to the proportions of mass-produced merchandise and, \[in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/cameras-tend-to-turn-people-into-things-and-the-photograph-extends/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I have asked students at the beginning of their careers, what things of that sort might haunt them – what things they must photograph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/i-have-asked-students-at-the-beginning-of-their-careers-what-things/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [One of the things my career as an artist might say to young artists is: The things that are close to you are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/one-of-the-things-my-career-as-an-artist-might-say-to-young-artists/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [There are things I photograph because I'm interested in those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-are-things-i-photograph-because-i-m-interested-in-those-things/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) ## More by Saul Leiter > [I admired a tremendous number of photographers, but for some reason I arrived at a point of view of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-admired-a-tremendous-number-of-photographers-but-for-some-reason-i/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I started out as a fashion photographer. One cannot say that I was successful but there was enough work to keep me busy. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-started-out-as-a-fashion-photographer-one-cannot-say-that-i-was/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I don’t have a philosophy. I have a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-don-t-have-a-philosophy-i-have-a-camera/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [Seeing is a neglected enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/seeing-is-a-neglected-enterprise/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [ If I’d only known which \[photographs\] would be very good and liked, I wouldn’t have had to do all the thousands of others. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/if-i-d-only-known-which-photographs-would-be-very-good-and-liked-i/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [Max Kozloff said to me one day, ‘You’re not really a photographer. You do photography, but you do it for your own purposes –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/max-kozloff-said-to-me-one-day-you-re-not-really-a-photographer-you/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I have a deep-seated distrust and even contempt for people who are driven by ambition to conquer the world … those who cannot control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-have-a-deep-seated-distrust-and-even-contempt-for-people-who-are/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [Photography allows you to learn to look and see. You begin to see things you'd never paid attention to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/photography-allows-you-to-learn-to-look-and-see-you-begin-to-see/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [When we do not know why the photographer has taken a picture and when we do not know why we are looking at it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/when-we-do-not-know-why-the-photographer-has-taken-a-picture-and-when/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I go out to take a walk, I see something, I take a picture. I take photographs. I have avoided profound explanations of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-go-out-to-take-a-walk-i-see-something-i-take-a-picture-i-take/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [In order to build a career and to be successful, one has to be determined. One has to be ambitious. I much prefer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/in-order-to-build-a-career-and-to-be-successful-one-has-to-be/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I leave these speculations to others. It’s quite possible that my work represents a search for beauty in the most prosaic and ordinary places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-leave-these-speculations-to-others-it-s-quite-possible-that-my-work/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [The important thing in life is not what you get, but what you throw out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/the-important-thing-in-life-is-not-what-you-get-but-what-you-throw-out/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [I don’t have a philosophy. I have a camera. I look into the camera and take pictures. My photographs are the tiniest part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-don-t-have-a-philosophy-i-have-a-camera-i-look-into-the-camera-and/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) > [There are the things that are out in the open and then there are the things that are hidden, and life has more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/there-are-the-things-that-are-out-in-the-open-and-then-there-are-the/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) [Explore all 20 Saul Leiter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I’ve said this before many times—that photography allows you to learn to look and see. 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