97 Portrait Photography Quotes for Instagram You Can’t Miss!

Even though a picture is worth a thousand words, adding portrait photography Quotes to a photo can give it more meaning.

If you’re tired of coming up with portrait photography from scratch, you don’t have to keep looking. We’ve put together a list of the best Instagram quotes from famous photographers.

Many of these quotes can be used as part of the caption section in your Instagram post. Just make sure that your quotes or portrait photography captions kinda adds something to your portrait photo.

What is a Portrait Photograph Quote?

When you quote, you use the exact words of a speaker or writer. A quote is also a repeated passage or statement. To quote something means to use it as proof. Quote can also be used as a verb and a noun in a number of other ways.

If you want to find also the best portrait hashtags for Instagram, you can read our article on portrait hashtags here.

Portrait Photography Quotes – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson, a French cameraman and one of the best street photographers, was inspired by the fine arts, literature, and philosophy.

He was a pioneer of the 35 mm medium and is regarded as the father of modern photojournalism, the most dramatic type of fine art photography. He is also known as the “street photography” master.

No other photographer has shown such unerring skill at capturing the “decisive moment,” that fleeting period when all the moving parts of a picture are in harmony.

We have a article that gives you an insight about outdoor portrait photography.

• “In a portrait, I’m looking for the silence in somebody.”
• “The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. It’s a question mark you put on somebody. Trying to say, “Who is it? What does it amount to? What is the significance of that face?” The difference between a portrait and a snapshot is that in the portrait, the person has agreed to be photographed.”
• “The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.
• “Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn’t go too fast. The subject must forget about you.”
• “I like to take pictures of people in their environment – the animal in its habitat. It is fascinating coming into people’s homes, and looking at them. But you have to be like a cat. Not disturb. On tiptoes, always on tiptoes. It’s like a biologist and his microscope. When you study the thing, it doesn’t react the same way as when it is not being studied. And you have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt, which is not an easy thing.”
• “It seems dangerous to be a portrait artist who does commissions for clients because everyone wants to be flattered, so they pose in such a way that there’s nothing left of truth.”

Portrait Photography Quotes – Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is a famous American portrait photographer who was born in Connecticut in 1949. During the Vietnam War, Leibovitz was stationed in the Philippines, where she took her earliest images.

Leibovitz began his career as a photographer for Rolling Stone magazine in 1970. She moved on to Vanity Fair in 1983 after three years and was designated the magazine’s chief photographer. She was influenced by in particularly by Richard Avedon and Henri Cartier-Bresson. 

The Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art all have collections of Annie Leibovitz’s images.

Read all about how to snap beautiful self portraits.

• “To see people as they are, as they imagine themselves, as they wish to be. To be witness, the friend, the judge, the accomplice. To record their moment.”
• “Irving Penn said he didn’t want to photograph anyone under 60, and I think there is some truth about it.”
• “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”
• “When I say I want to photograph someone, what it really means is that I’d like to know them. Anyone I know I photograph.”
• “As soon as you engage someone, their face changes. They become animated. They forget about being photographed. Their minds become occupied and they look more interesting. But I’m so busy looking, I can’t talk. I never developed that gift.”
• “Sometimes I enjoy just photographing the surface because I think it can be as revealing as going to the heart of the matter.”
• “Coming tight was boring to me, just the face… it didn’t have enough information.”
• “In a portrait, you have room to have a point of view and to be conceptual with a picture. The image may not be literally what’s going on, but it’s representative.”
• “I’m pretty used to people not liking having their picture taken. I mean, if you do like to have your picture taken, I worry about you.”

Portrait Photography Quotes – Richard Avedon

Avedon was born in New York City on May 15, 1923. He was most recognized for his minimalist portraiture and work in the fashion industry. He started out taking identity shots for the Merchant Marines as a photographer.

He subsequently transitioned to fashion, photographing for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, and he insisted that his models express emotion and movement, breaking from the standard of still fashion photography.

Check out this detailed guide on how to take candlelight portraits to learn how to go about this.

• “A portrait isn’t a fact but an opinion – an occasion rather than a truth.”
• “A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he’s being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much a part of the photograph as what he’s wearing or how he looks. He’s implicated in what’s happened, and he has a certain real power over the result.”
• “A portrait photographer depends upon another person to complete his picture. The subject imagined, which in a sense is me, must be discovered in someone else willing to take part in a fiction he can’t possibly know about. My concerns are not his. We have separate ambitions for the image. His need to plead his case probably goes as deep as my need to plead mine, but the control is with me.”
• “I think I’m sort of a reader – I used to love handwriting analysis. But that’s nothing compared to reading a face. I think if I had decided to go into the fortune-telling business, I would have probably been very good. What happens to me in work – I look for something in a face, and I look for contradiction, complexity. Something’s that are contradictory and yet connected.”
• “You can’t get at the thing itself, the real nature of the sitter, by stripping away the surface. You can only get beyond the surface by working with the surface. All that you can do is manipulate that surface – gesture, costume, expression – radically and correctly.”
• “My photographs don’t go below the surface. They don’t go below anything. They’re readings of the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues. But whenever I become absorbed in the beauty of a face, in the excellence of a single feature, I feel I’ve lost what’s really there…been seduced by someone else’s standard of beauty or by the sitter’s own idea of the best in him. That’s not usually the best. So each sitting becomes a contest.”
• “There is no truth in photography. There is no truth about anyone’s person. My portraits are much more about me than they are about the people I photograph. I used to think that it was a collaboration, that it was something that happened as a result of what the subject wanted to project and what the photographer wanted to photograph. I no longer think it is that at all.”
• “And he said, “I hate that picture. It doesn’t look like me.” Well, for a very smart man to think that a picture is supposed to look like him… would you go to Modigliani and say, “I want it to look like me?”
• “I always prefer to work in the studio. It isolates people from their environment. They become in a sense… symbolic of themselves.”
• “I’ve worked out of a series of no’s. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no’s force me to the “yes.” I have a white background. I have the person I’m interested in and the thing that happens between us.”
• I“ am not necessarily interested in the secret of a person. The fact that there are qualities a subject doesn’t want me to observe is an interesting fact. Interesting enough for a portrait. It then becomes a portrait of someone who doesn’t want something to show. That is interesting.

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Portrait Photography Quotes – Peter Lindbergh

Peter Lindbergh, a German filmmaker and photographer, was born in Poland in November 1944. He worked for the Karstadt and Horten department shops in Duisburg as a window dresser.

He developed a love for photography in 1971, and for two years he worked as Hans Lux’s assistant in Düsseldorf, Germany. Interested in more history? Check our when did portrait photography start here!

More interesting stuff, when Lindbergh relocated to Paris in 1978, she started working for international Vogue, which published issues in English, German, French, American, and Italian. Later, he held positions with The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Allure. 

• “I feel more and more, that it is about photographing this “magic space”, situated between the photographer and the subject he’s photographing and not about the “architecture” of faces.”
• I“ think that everyone is closer to themselves when exposed to the feeling of melancholy; something more poetic takes place as you are giving up control of yourself and expose deeper feelings and emotions to the man with the camera in front of you. The space between the photographer and his subject, this is what you photograph. It is not the outside bone structure of the face you photograph; it is the invisible part of the subject you capture if he or she is willing to give it to you.”
• “Laughter has zero value for me in portraits or my other photographs, there’s so much to see in faces that are not laughing. When someone’s laughing that’s all you see and that ruins the rest.Photographing someone laughing has no appeal to me, fine if they laugh but for a portrait, I need all those manifold beautiful layers, which is obscured by that thing people call laughter.”
• “A portrait is never the person. What is captured, I think, is your relationship with the person.

• “The photographer, even in fashion and portraiture, has to have a standpoint. It’s important to know what you stand for, no? Most people just take pictures but they stand for nothing. They follow trends and don’t know why.”

• “Photography gives you the opportunity to use your sensibility and everything you are to say something about and be part of the world around you. In this way, you might discover who you are, and with a little luck, you might discover something much larger than yourself.”

• “The woman is always more important than the clothes.”

• “Now people ask whether photography is art, but I think the question is of absolutely no interest.”

• “I bought my first camera to photograph my brother’s children. I learned a lot from that experience. The value of innocence and of not being focused on yourself, and I have to say that these things have remained with me to this day. I can immediately feel when someone is putting on a camera face.”

• “Photography is no longer a love affair with the beauty of reality.”

• “I didn’t take inspiration from other photographers, which in a way helped to find my own images.”

• “Your inspiration is better if it comes from many different sources and your sensibilities will transform all those influences and inspiration into your own visual world. It’s like reading the book instead of watching the movie.”

Tools to bring your portrait photography to life

• Aesthetic Portrait Backgrounds
• Old Paper Portrait Backgrounds
• Galaxy Portrait Backgrounds
• Islamic Portrait Backgrounds

Portrait Photography Quotes – other  Photographers

• “Photography is about capturing souls, not smiles.
  My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse, and entertain.” Helmut Newton
• “The portrait photographers that we tend to idolize have a great sense of design and compassion. I think the marriage of compassion and design is really what makes, in my opinion, a really wonderful moment.” Mark Seliger
• A“ portrait can go wrong because the sitter doesn’t let himself go. Even a tiny gesture, a light relaxation, a very small movement can lead a sitting in the right direction. A good portrait is the rapport that is established between two people, there has to be someone in front of the camera and someone behind it.” Jeanloup Sieff
• “A portrait must get beyond the almost universal self-consciousness that people have before the camera. If at some moment of reality… did not happen, you had to provoke it in order to… awaken a genuine response.”
  Edward Steichen
• “It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” Paul Caponigro
• “… success in photography, portraits especially, is dependent on being able to grasp those supreme instants which pass with the ticking of a clock, never to be duplicated – so light, balance – expression must be seen – felt as it were – in a flash, the mechanics and technique being so perfected in one as to be absolutely automatic.” Edward Weston
• The thing that’s fascinating about portraiture is that nobody is alike.”
  Imogen Cunningham
• “What I do in all my portraits is to try to stay out of it. I try to catch people the way they are.” Mark Carder
• “I always take portraits in my sitter’s own surroundings. I concentrate very much on the picture as a whole and leave the sitter rather to himself. I hardly talk and barely look at him.” Bill Brandt
• “If it’s a likeness, alone, it’s not a success. If, the … success in photography, portraits especially, is dependent on being able to grasp those supreme instants which pass with the ticking of a clock, never to be duplicated – so light, balance – expression must be seen – felt as it were – in a flash, the mechanics and technique being so perfected in one as to be absolutely automatic.” Edward Weston
• “Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” Matt Hardy
• “It takes a long time for a man to look like his portrait.” James Whistler
• “The tool of every self-portrait is the mirror.
  You see yourself in it. Turn it the other way, and you see the world .” Agnes Varda
• “I always take portraits in my sitter’s own surroundings. I concentrate very much on the picture as a whole and leave the sitter rather to himself. I hardly talk and barely look at him.” Bill Brandt
• “It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” Paul Caponigro
• “In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only insofar as it is apparent on the outside…Very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.” Irving Penn
• “What is a portrait good for, unless it shows just how the subject was seen by the painter? In the old days before photography came in a sitter had a perfect right to say to the artist: “Paint me just as I am.” Now if he wishes absolute fidelity he can go to the photographer and get it.” Aubrey Beardsley
• “The severe portrait that is not the greatest joy in the world to the subject may be enormously interesting to the reader.” Irving Penn
• “When I take a black-and-white portrait, it’s not particularly meant to please you. It’s meant to talk to you; it’s meant to shame you. It’s meant to scream out at you, and it has a message.” Don McCullin
• “Success in photography, portraiture especially, is dependent on being able to grasp those supreme instants which pass with the ticking of a clock, never to be duplicated – so light, balance – expression must be seen – felt as it were – in a flash, the mechanics and technique being so perfected in one as to be absolutely automatic.” Edward Weston
• “A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was. Philippe Halsman
• “For me, a portrait is something from which you feel the person, their inner quality, what it is that makes them who they are.” Herb Ritts
• “A photographic close-up is perhaps the purest form of portraiture, creating a confrontation between the viewer and the subject that daily interaction makes impossible, or at least impolite. Martin Schoeller
• “What my portraits are made of? 10% showing the reality, 90% showing my philosophy.” Scuro Chiaro
• “When a portrait evokes a feeling, then you’ve got something. Technique isn’t really important.” Bert Stern
• “When you take a photograph of someone, you take a portrait of their soul. Winna Efendi
• “The dog is the perfect portrait subject. He doesn’t pose. He isn’t aware of the camera.” Patrick Demarchelier
• “Portraits are the most intimate photographs. The image will survive the subject.” Victor Skrebneski
• “Portraits are about revealing aspects of an individual.” Kehinde Wiley

Random Portrait Photography Quotes

• “Get out there and take a portrait”
• “Look for the magic in every portrait”
• “But first, let me take a portrait”
• “I don’t always take a portrait, but when I do…”
• “What do you think of this portrait?”
• “A good portrait isn’t always easy but the time is worth it”
• “Is this a stunning portrait – yes or no?”
• “What do you think of this photo?”
• “How gorgeous is this portrait?”
• “The smile in the portrait can change the world”
• “Is tough but so are my portraits”
• “If you don’t believe in your portrait photography, who will?”
• “This portrait seems to be impossible until I did it”
• “This portrait is the reason why I smile everyday”
• “Always wanted to be one of those photographers taking those awesome portraits”
• “Stunning portrait – here we come!”
• “If you’re looking for beauty, you’ll find it in this portrait”
• “Good mood, good portrait”
• “Want to be happy? Look at this portrait”
• “The journey taking this portrait was the best part”
• “This portrait sums up my entire week”
• “Don’t Study my portrait photo. You won’t Graduate!”
• “Good Times + great portrait= Great Memories!”

 

What are the Best Photography Quotes?

The best photography quotes often come from renowned photographers and artists who have a deep understanding of the medium. Here are a few:

• “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
  “The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” – Andy Warhol
• “Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” – Destin Sparks
  “In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz
• “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange

What are the most Famous Photography Quotes?

Here are five famous photography quotes:

• “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams
• “The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.” – Susan Meiselas
• “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” – Chase Jarvis
• “The picture that you took with your camera is the imagination you want to create with reality.” – Scott Lorenzo
• “Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” – Don McCullin

Why do People Search for Photograph Quotes?

People search for photography quotes for a variety of reasons. Quotes can serve as a source of inspiration, helping photographers to see their work from a new perspective or to push their creative boundaries.

They can also provide insight into the thoughts and philosophies of renowned photographers, offering valuable lessons about the art and craft of photography.

Additionally, photography quotes are often used as captions on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, helping to convey the mood or message of a photo, engage with followers, and enhance the overall storytelling of the post.

Use Quotes for all kind of Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is a popular genre that focuses on capturing the personality of a subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. It can be a creative outlet for both the photographer and the subject, allowing them to express themselves in unique and interesting ways.

Here are some different types of portrait photography:

• Traditional Portrait: This type of portrait is a formal and posed photograph, typically focusing on the face of the subject.
• Environmental Portrait: This style involves taking a portrait of a person in their natural environment, such as their workplace or home, to tell more about their life and personality.
• Candid Portrait: Candid portraits are taken without the subject’s awareness, capturing natural expressions and actions.
• Lifestyle Portrait: Lifestyle portraits capture people in their everyday life, telling a story about the subject’s life or interests.
• Glamour or Fashion Portrait: These portraits emphasize the subject’s appearance and style, often used in fashion magazines or advertising.
• Surreal Portrait: Surreal portraits use creative techniques and post-processing to create a dreamlike or fantastical image.
• Conceptual Portrait: In conceptual portraits, the photographer tries to convey a specific idea or message through the image.
• Group Portrait: This type involves photographing a group of people, such as a family or team.

Real-world Portrait Photography Quotes and Captions

 

 

 

 

How to Caption a Portrait Photo?

Creating a compelling caption for a portrait photo involves reflecting on the subject’s personality or the emotion captured, and considering the context of the photo.

A simple and concise caption allows the portrait to speak for itself while engaging the audience. Including relevant hashtags on platforms like Instagram can enhance visibility.

A touch of humor, wit, or a well-chosen quote can add uniqueness to your caption, but ensuring it resonates with your personal or brand’s voice is crucial for authenticity, helping to enrich the visual narrative of the portrait for your audience.

How to Write a Photography Quote?

Writing a photography quote involves expressing your thoughts, feelings, or experiences related to photography in a concise and impactful way. Here are some steps to guide you:

• Reflect on your experiences: Think about your experiences with photography. What has it taught you? How does it make you feel? What do you love about it?
• Identify key themes: Are there recurring themes in your experiences? This could be anything from the importance of lighting to the power of capturing emotions.
• Write your thoughts: Start writing your thoughts on these themes. Don’t worry about making it sound perfect at this stage.
• Refine your quote: Now, refine your thoughts into a concise and impactful statement. Try to keep it short and memorable.
• Review and edit: Review your quote. Does it accurately express your thoughts? Is it clear and easy to understand? Edit as necessary until you’re happy with it.

Is a Caption the Same as a Quote?

A caption is a brief description that provides context or explanation about an image or photograph. It often includes details about what’s happening in the image, where it was taken, or who is in it.

On the other hand, a quote is a direct repetition of someone’s words, often used to convey a particular thought or idea. While a quote can be used as a caption, not all captions are quotes.

What Hashtags to use to get Followers?

Hashtags such as #followme, #followforfollow, and #like4like are often used with the intent of growing followers and increasing engagement​​.

#followme is also listed among the top 25 Instagram hashtags, indicating its popularity for gaining followers.

Learn how to successful post on Facebook or Instagram!

Further readings:
More about Peter Lindbergh
More about Henri Cartier-Bresson
More about Richard Avedon
More about Annie Leibovitz

More about interesting stuff about quotes:
The 22 Best Pinterest Quotes to Brighten Your Day
50 Best Self Love Quotes and Captions for Instagram
18 Alice in Wonderland Quotes
60+ Best Inspirational movie quotes

Tools to bring your portrait photography to life:

• Street Photography Presets
• Aesthetic Background for Portraits
• Old Paper Backgrounds for Portraits
• Galaxy Backgrounds for Portrait
• Islamic Backgrounds for Portrait