Photographer Quotes: Photojournalists

Photographer’s Quotes: Photojournalists

I have interviewed quite a few photographers over the years. Here are some of my favorite quotes from those interviews, here focusing on photojournalists.

Walter Iooss (http://walteriooss.com/) covered the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. He also did much of the photography of the athletes prior to the games on assignment for Fuji Photofilm and Sports Illustrated. This was a dream assignment for a sports photographer, and Ioos handled it with a style that changed the way sports photography was done forever after. His method of work changed after the initial phase because of the changed nature of the Games in the aftermath of the Munich massacre.

“Because of the enormity of the event and its political nature, movement will be quite restricted. Security will be very tight and the restrictions on movement should make photographing the games a difficult job. I’ve always prided myself on moving around, on not duplicating everyone else’s shot. While the Los Angeles committee is doing its best, it’s going to be hard for photographers not to be caught up in the ‘one big cable release’ syndrome.”

John Isaac

John Isaac (http://www.johnisaac.com/) served as the photo editor and assignment photographer for the United Nations for many years. His work combines a compassionate eye with the discipline of a documentary photographer.

“There are two keys to assignment photography—know about the background of what you are shooting, and expect the worst. I strongly believe that pictures should not degrade anyone. The big question is: how much should a photographer intrude on privacy—where do you draw the line? I believe in trying to convey a message, to show a part of someone’s life.”

Neil Leifer

Neil Leifer (http://www.neilleifer.com/) was a staff photographer for Time magazine and later specialized in work for Sports Illustrated. His has dozens of covers and has hundreds of published images to his credit.

“You remember the pictures you liked and say, ‘How did I do that?’ And when you encounter the same situation something clicks. You take your time when you shoot and you edit and you begin to know what you like.

“I’m just curious about things. And I try to let my camera bring me in to see what things are about. I’m not suggesting that the work is easy. It’s not. The pictures don’t just happen—I’m not that good. I put a great deal of effort into them and enjoy the challenge.

“My philosophy has always been that the magazine pays my salary and they’re going to get their money’s worth.

“This job has so many things to do that have nothing to do with photography. There are the obvious things—like plane and hotel reservations—but there’s also a lot to do with just setting things up. People would be amazed if they knew what went into setting them up. But people do cooperate.

“I never fooled myself into thinking they were saying yes to Neil Leifer. They were saying yes to Sports Illustrated and Time magazine.

“ I’m always thinking about the picture I’m going to shoot for the magazine. I’m not overly impressed by the celebrities. The idea is to get the picture. There is a point when you turn out the lights and put on the projector, and the picture is there or it isn’t.

“When I look back at my experiences I know that photography has brought me to meet all these people and see all these events and has given me experiences that no money can buy.”