Top 88 Quotes & Sayings by Jay Maisel

I'm a New Yorker. I don't believe in air unless I can see it.

The pictures are everywhere. If you're open, they will find you.

I want to go out as unprepared as possible so I can get filled up with what the world has to offer.

I try not to tell students where to shoot, when to shoot, or what to shoot. I feel finding the picture is the most important part of being a photographer. The actual shooting is of lesser importance.

The best camera is the one you have with you.

Try to go out empty and let your images fill you up.

If you're not shooting in the right direction, it doesn't matter how well you're shooting.

You are responsible for every part of your image, even the parts you’re not interested in.

Be aware of every square millimeter of your frame.

You have to learn not only from your failures. You must also learn from your successes.

You always end up with too many pictures to edit and too few that you feel 'got it'.

You will, in time, see and show others not just the superficial, but the details, the meanings, and the implications of all that you look at.

You can't just turn on when something happens, you have to be turned on all the time. Then things happen.

As you see something that yo want to shot and it's bearing down on you, it's important to start framing long before the subject gets close to you. The light will reveal itself possibly long before you want to take the image, but you have to wait until the picture comes to you, and if you've been anticipating carefully when the subject will be in position, the background will have been figured out in advance.

You have to let the past successes go, or you'll never be able to see anew.

First, perseverance trumps talent. Second, do what you want to do, otherwise why bother? Third, be ethical; it might rub off on others. Fourth, don't give up.

When finding the right angle for a shot...'Move your ass.'

There really isn't anything that you could call 'bad' color. It all has to do with the amount of color you use and in what context it appears.

Color is seductive. It changes as it interacts with other colors, it changes because of the light falling upon it, and it changes as it becomes larger in size.

The whole world is there for you. Gifts will happen, but only if you are patient with life itself, the shooting process, and your own limitations.

Gesture will survive whatever kind of light you have. Gesture can triumph over anything because of its narrative content.

When we are given gifts, we must be quick and able to accept them.

Always shoot it now. It won't be the same when you go back.

Always carry a camera, it's tough to shoot a picture without one.

The more light you have in an image, the less drama you get. The details start taking over; the mystery is all gone.

If the light is great in front of you, you should turn around and see what it is doing behind you.

You find that you have to do many things, more than just lift up the camera and shoot, and so you get involved in it in a very physical way. You may find that the picture you want to do can only be made from a certain place, and you're not there, so you have to physically go there. And that participation may spur you on to work harder on the thing, . . . because in the physical change of position you start seeing a whole different relationship.

One color alone means nothing. I acts as in a vacuum, with no other colors to relate to. It is only when colors relate to other colors that the fun begins.

Color really doesn't have interaction if it's full of colors. It's the interaction or relationship among or between colors that makes a color image. This usually happens with a few colors, not a glut of them.

As people, we love pattern. But interrupted pattern is more interesting.

Failing is not a problem. Not trying is a problem.

If you're not your own severest critic, you are your own worst enemy.

Had I not been told to look, I would have quite, ignorant of what was really there, because I had 'made plans' and was wearing visual and emotional blinders that limited my perceptions and my vision.

It's always around. You just don't see it.

The composition is already there, you just need to crop it

What you're shooting at doesn't matter, the real question is: 'Does it give you joy?'

Never say you're going back - SHOOT IT NOW!

If you can capture the element of surprise, you're way ahead of the game.

Keep your mind open. You may very well learn something new about yourself and your pictures.

Gesture is not always action.

Sometimes without shooting a picture germinates in your head. Other times, you keep taking pictures of the same thing and watch the images mature and grow.

Never put lettering in your photos unless you want it read.

When you shoot, that is opportunity number one to make a statement. When you edit, you have opportunity number two to make your statement. It could be an affirmation of your first choice or could go off in another direction.

If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person.

The drama of light exists not only in what is in the light, but also in what is left dark. If the light is everywhere, the drama is gone.

Light gesture and color of the key compliments of any photograph. Light and color are obvious, but it is just her that is the most important. There is gesture in everything. It's up to you to find a gesture that is most telling.

It's my obligation to take out all the 'wrong' pictures.

It's a lot easier to take pictures if you always have the camera with you.

You sort of have to be always aware, even when you're not thinking of shooting. That's when the best stuff happens.

There is no bad light. There is spectacular light and difficult light. It's up to you to use the light you have.

Allow yourself to lose your way.

Remember that most people (those who are not photographers) don't even see the things that you missed. Many don't even look. Ergo, you are way ahead of the game.

If you're just going to meet consumer or clients' demands, you might as well be a plumber - the work will be more frequently available.

Some have said that if you take a great picture in color and take away the color, you'll have a great black-and-white picture. But if you're shooting something about color and you take away the color, you'll have nothing.

I love when pictures ask questions or make others ask questions.

If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it.

Photography is an act of love.

Since the background is as important as the subject, you mustn't let it default by chance. You must control not only vertical and horizontal, you must be aware of the depth of field (or lack of it) that you want in the background.

Don't overthink things in front of you. I fit moves you, shoot it. If it's fun, shoot it. If you've never seen it before, shoot it.

Forget what it was. Look at what it is.