--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I’d only known which [photographs]…" description: "\"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.\" — Saul Leiter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/saul-leiter-27327_ifs_if-i-d-only-known-which-photographs-woul_566513.png" --- # If I’d only known which \[photographs\] would be very good… ![“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.” quote by Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/saul-leiter-27327_ifs_if-i-d-only-known-which-photographs-woul_566513.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/saul-leiter-27327_ifs_if-i-d-only-known-which-photographs-woul_566513.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/saul-leiter-27327_ifs_if-i-d-only-known-which-photographs-woul_566513.png) > “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.” [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. He wishes he could predict which photos would succeed, avoiding endless trial and error. **In simple terms:** Wishing to know which photos would succeed. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and keep creating. Themes creativity uncertainty process Mood frustrated determined Type advice reflective When to use this quote - photo shoots - portfolio building - creative brainstorming Key Concepts photography intuition risk management Questions to Reflect On - How can you embrace trial and error? - What strategies help you evaluate work quickly? A Different Perspective Predicting success is impossible; learning comes from many attempts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Known Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-photographs-4686164/) [Liked Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liked-wouldn-3266567/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs/) [Photographs Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-good-1074998/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Wouldn Thousands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wouldn-thousands-4686165/) ## Related quotes > [There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/there-are-no-rules-for-good-photographs-there-are-only-good/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't like you. If I hadn't liked you, I wouldn't love you. If I wouldn't love you, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-hadn-t-met-you-i-wouldn-t-like-you-if-i-hadn-t-liked-you-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many people are diverted to doing what people want photographed - fashion models, buildings, mountains - they get to thinking those photographs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rondal-partridge/so-many-people-are-diverted-to-doing-what-people-want-photographed/) [Rondal Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rondal-partridge/) > [If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't liked you. If I hadn't liked you, I wouldn't love you. 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I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [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/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## 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/) > [Max Kozloff said to me one day, ‘You’re not really a photographer. 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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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-leiter/i-think-i-ve-said-this-before-many-times-that-photography-allows-you/) [Saul Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) [Explore all 20 Saul Leiter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-leiter/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. 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And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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