Photograph the world as it is. Nothing's more interesting than reality. Mary Ellen Mark More Quotes by Mary Ellen Mark More Quotes From Mary Ellen Mark Finding the right subject is the hardest part. Mary Ellen Mark findingshardestsubjects I'm interested in reality, and I'm interested in survival. I'm interested in people who aren't the lucky ones, who maybe have a tougher time surviving, and telling their story. Mary Ellen Mark survivalrealitypeople I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul. Mary Ellen Mark photographypeoplethinking It’s not when you press the shutter, but why you press the shutter. Mary Ellen Mark shutterspressescameras I don't think you can develop or learn a way of seeing or a point of view. A way of seeing is who you are, how you think and how you create images. It is something that is inside of you. It's how you look at the world. Mary Ellen Mark viewsworldthinking Reality is always extraordinary. Mary Ellen Mark extraordinaryreality Usually my ideas for work have revolved around my interest in people, especially people that live on the edges of society. Mary Ellen Mark interestpeopleideas I’m just interested in people on the edges. I feel an affinity for people who haven’t had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence. Mary Ellen Mark breakwantpeople No, I don't think you're ever an objective observer. By making a frame you're being selective, then you edit the pictures you want published and you're being selective again. You develop a point of view that you want to express. You try to go into a situation with an open mind, but then you form an opinion, and you express it in your photographs. Mary Ellen Mark viewsmindthinking In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind. Mary Ellen Mark portraitsbehinds The difficulty with color is to go beyond the fact that it's color ? to have it be not just a colorful picture but really be a picture about something. It's difficult. So often color gets caught up in color, and it becomes merly decorative. Some photographers use it brilliantly to make visual statements combining color and content; otherwise it is empty. Mary Ellen Mark colorphotographyuse One of my all-time favorite photographers is Irving Penn. I wish I could have watched him work. Mary Ellen Mark all-timephotographerwish A great photograph needs no explanation; it functions by suggestion. There is no need to be explicit. Mary Ellen Mark suggestionsphotographneeds If you are interested in photography because you love it and are obsessed with it, you must be self-motivated, a perfectionist, and relentless. Mary Ellen Mark perfectionistphotographyself The obsessions we have are pretty much the same our whole lives. Mine are people, the human condition, life. Mary Ellen Mark human-conditionobsessionpeople Nowadays shots are created in post-production, on computers. It's not really photography. Mary Ellen Mark shotscomputerphotography Everyone asks me how I get my subjects to open up to me. There’s no formula to it. It’s just a matter of who you are and how you talk to people - of being yourself. Mary Ellen Mark being-yourselfmatterpeople If I hadn't become a photographer, I would have loved to become a doctor. I would have loved to have done something that actually helped people and changed their lives. Mary Ellen Mark doctorsdonepeople Sometimes I work on film sets. I've done this for 40 years. I always wanted to photograph on the set of an Ingmar Bergman film. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity. Mary Ellen Mark doneopportunityyears There are some people who become best friends with everyone they photograph. There are people that I really like and admire and respect, but in a way I think it's better to keep a distance. I think you get better pictures of people that you don't know very well. Mary Ellen Mark distancepeoplethinking
