10 Best Ansel Adams Quotes (Photography Inspiration)

If Ansel Adams was still alive, he would have turned 110 today. To commemorate the life of an amazing photographer, I’d like to share my top 10 Ansel Adams quotes.

Usually I would say what I think about each quote and how you can learn something from it but, today, I thought that I would try something different and see what you think about them. Leave a comment below letting me know which is your favourite and why you like it. 

Motivational Guidance

Simply Stunning Landscapes

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Motivational Guidance

Simply Stunning Landscapes

As Ansel Adams said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Get inspired and take your landscape photography to the next level with our Video Course on capturing Simply Stunning Landscapes.

Ansel Adams Quote: A Biography

Ansel Adams is a black and white photographer, best known for his landscapes and development of the Zone system. For those of you who don’t know, the Zone system is a way of properly exposing the photo in a final print; not dissimilar to how HDR photos work today.
He died in 1983 but his work continues to live on today and his reputation will remain for many years to come.

Ansel Adams Quotes

‘A good photograph is knowing where to stand.’
‘Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.’
‘A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.’
‘There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.’
‘Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.’
‘Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.’
‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it.’
‘There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.’
‘We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium.’
‘When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.’

Motivational Guidance

Simply Stunning Landscapes

Discover stunning landscapes and take inspiration from Ansel Adams with this must-have digital product.

Motivational Guidance

Simply Stunning Landscapes

As Ansel Adams said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Get inspired and take your landscape photography to the next level with our Video Course on capturing Simply Stunning Landscapes.