52 Quotes by Eve Arnold

You can’t make a great musician or a great photographer if the magic isn’t there.

I realise that I had the best of serious picture journalism. There was an innocence in our approach, especially in the 1950s and 1960s when we naively believed that by holding a mirror up to the world we could help – no matter how little – to make people aware of the human condition.

What has changed is that when I photographed, most people that I photographed didn’t have the right of refusal on their work. It would take a Marilyn Monroe at her height to be able to dictate that.

It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.

What drove me and kept me going over the decades? If I had to use a single word, it would be 'curiosity.'

What you need to be a good photographer is an overwhelming curiosity and a good digestion. Sometimes you feel blessed with curiosity, sometimes you feel cursed with it.

If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given.