--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I probably get a deeper satisfaction of…" description: "\"I probably get a deeper satisfaction of having taken a very good photograph than of having written something very good, a very good story. Maybe it's b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/teju-cole-2851_also_i-probably-get-a-deeper-satisfaction-of_753755.png" --- # I probably get a deeper satisfaction of having taken a… ![“I probably get a deeper satisfaction of having taken a very good photograph than of having written something very good, a very good story. Maybe it's because the element of magic is so present in a good photograph - luck and magic, but also hard work and being ready and all that.” quote by Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/teju-cole-2851_also_i-probably-get-a-deeper-satisfaction-of_753755.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/teju-cole-2851_also_i-probably-get-a-deeper-satisfaction-of_753755.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/teju-cole-2851_also_i-probably-get-a-deeper-satisfaction-of_753755.png) > “I probably get a deeper satisfaction of having taken a very good photograph than of having written something very good, a very good story. Maybe it's because the element of magic is so present in a good photograph - luck and magic, but also hard work and being ready and all that.” [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the unique blend of chance, skill, and preparation that makes photography rewarding, often more immediately satisfying than writing. **In simple terms:** Photography mixes luck, skill, and readiness, giving quick joy. Key Takeaway Embrace both chance and craft in creative work. Themes creativity photography skill luck preparation Mood reflective inspired thoughtful Type artistic motivational philosophical When to use this quote - photo exhibition - travel documentation - personal journaling - teaching photography Key Concepts Aesthetic experience visual storytelling serendipity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance spontaneity with technique? - What moments make a photo feel magical? A Different Perspective Writing offers deeper narrative depth, which photography may lack. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Good story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-story/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-good-photograph-is-not-the-object-the-consequences-of-the/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I'm quite taken aback when I get something that appears to be technically a good photograph, because it's not necessarily my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-m-quite-taken-aback-when-i-get-something-that-appears-to-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I have been a photographer all my life…and have made photographs of many things and for many reasons. But one thing that becomes more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/i-have-been-a-photographer-all-my-life-and-have-made-photographs-of/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [A good photograph is like a good hound dog, dumb, but eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-atget/a-good-photograph-is-like-a-good-hound-dog-dumb-but-eloquent/) Eugene Atget > [A good photograph will prove to the viewer how little our eyes permit us to see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-levinstein/a-good-photograph-will-prove-to-the-viewer-how-little-our-eyes-permit/) Leon Levinstein > [“A photograph is a click away. A good photograph is a hundred clicks away and a better one, a thousand clicks away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kowtham-kumar-k/a-photograph-is-a-click-away-a-good-photograph-is-a-hundred-clicks/) [Kowtham Kumar K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kowtham-kumar-k/) > [I don't regret the numerous pictures of Brigitte Bardot, but I'd rather have a good photograph of my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-depardon/i-don-t-regret-the-numerous-pictures-of-brigitte-bardot-but-i-d/) [Raymond Depardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-depardon/) > [No one can really explain in a rational way what makes a good photograph or a bad photograph... This is why the art world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/no-one-can-really-explain-in-a-rational-way-what-makes-a-good/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [If what I see in my mind excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/if-what-i-see-in-my-mind-excites-me-there-is-a-good-chance-it-will/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Any good photograph is a successful synthesis of technique and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-feininger/any-good-photograph-is-a-successful-synthesis-of-technique-and-art/) [Andreas Feininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-feininger/) > [The model is just one element of the photograph. There's also the location, the light - all that junk. It helps if the girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kern/the-model-is-just-one-element-of-the-photograph-there-s-also-the/) [Richard Kern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kern/) > [Photography, when used as a representational art, is not a mere copy of nature. This is proved by the rarity of the 'good' photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/photography-when-used-as-a-representational-art-is-not-a-mere-copy-of/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [“What do we feel when we look at a good photograph? We just want to be there, right at the exact moment that photo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-do-we-feel-when-we-look-at-a-good-photograph-we-just-want-to-be/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [A good photograph will prove to the viewer how little our eyes permit us to see. Most people, really, don’t see-see only what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-levinstein/a-good-photograph-will-prove-to-the-viewer-how-little-our-eyes-permit-2/) Leon Levinstein > [A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicates-a-fact-touches-the-heart/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## More by Teju Cole > [One of the difficulties of photography is that it is much better at being explicit than at being reticent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-difficulties-of-photography-is-that-it-is-much-better-at/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Note-taking is important to me: a week's worth of reading notes (or "thoughts I had in the shower" notes) is cumulatively more interesting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/note-taking-is-important-to-me-a-week-s-worth-of-reading-notes-or/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [It's an Obama book, certainly. I was delighted, and astonished, to hear recently that he was reading it. It's a book about a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/it-s-an-obama-book-certainly-i-was-delighted-and-astonished-to-hear/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attention. That's what really art history is. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/because-i-m-an-art-historian-i-have-some-experience-of-writing-that/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [For purposes of marketing, writers are designated as poets, novelists, or something else. But writing is about matchmaking, an attempt to marry sensations with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/for-purposes-of-marketing-writers-are-designated-as-poets-novelists/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Most of the people around me yesterday were middle-aged or old. I am used to it, but it never ceases to surprise me how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/most-of-the-people-around-me-yesterday-were-middle-aged-or-old-i-am/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“I look at his hands. In those hands is new knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-look-at-his-hands-in-those-hands-is-new-knowledge/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The mind roams more widely in the dark than it does in light. It is no surprise, then, stepping out of the unlit house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-mind-roams-more-widely-in-the-dark-than-it-does-in-light-it-is-no/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Each person must, on some level, take himself as the calibration point for normalcy, must assume that the room of his own mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/each-person-must-on-some-level-take-himself-as-the-calibration-point/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Writing as writing. Writing as rioting. Writing as righting. On the best days, all three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/writing-as-writing-writing-as-rioting-writing-as-righting-on-the-best/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The site was a palimpsest, as was all the city, written, erased, rewritten...Generations rushed through the eye of the needle, and I, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-site-was-a-palimpsest-as-was-all-the-city-written-erased/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“As I contemplated the silent world before me, I thought of the many romantic ideas attached to blindness. Ideas of unusual sensitivity and genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/as-i-contemplated-the-silent-world-before-me-i-thought-of-the-many/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Always say 'no pun intended' to draw attention to the intended pun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/always-say-no-pun-intended-to-draw-attention-to-the-intended-pun/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [In a sense, Open City is a kind of Wunderkammer, one of those little rooms assembled with bric-a-brac by Renaissance scholars. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/in-a-sense-open-city-is-a-kind-of-wunderkammer-one-of-those-little/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [One of the chief characteristics of a mob is its quickness. It is sudden. It pounces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-chief-characteristics-of-a-mob-is-its-quickness-it-is/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) [Explore all 146 Teju Cole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## More Also quotes > [I'm a workaholic, but I also like to vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrueche-tran/i-m-a-workaholic-but-i-also-like-to-vacation/) [Karrueche Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrueche-tran/) > [I've also directed, shot, and edited several music videos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-king/i-ve-also-directed-shot-and-edited-several-music-videos/) [Richard King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-king/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. 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