12+ William Klein Quotes On Education, Religion And Socialism

Be yourself. I much prefer seeing something, even it is clumsy, that doesn't look like somebody else's work. — William Klein

What would please me most is to make photographs as incomprehensible as life. — William Klein

I have always loved the amateur side of photography, automatic photographs, accidental photographs with uncentered compositions, heads cut off, whatever. I incite people to make their self-portraits. I see myself as their walking photo booth. — William Klein

I was a make believe ethnographer: treating New Yorkers like an explorer would treat Zulus - searching for the rawest snapshot, the zero degree of photography. — William Klein

I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine, I do my utmost to make it malfunction. For me, to make a photograph is to make an anti-photograph. — William Klein

I have a special relationship with God. And when I take the right photograph, God gives me a little bing! in the camera. And then I know I'm on the right track. — William Klein

I came from the outside, the rules of photography didn't interest me. — William Klein

Anybody who pretends to be objective isn't realistic. — William Klein

I feel like I'm doing something that's worthwhile. I feel like I'm showing something other people haven't shown. I don't get to talk to the people who I photograph, I just go, along, banging away. So I don't really have a relationship with them. A lot of people think it's very important. I don't. It's like love at first sight. I have an impression when I see somebody, and I have an idea of who they are, or what they are. — William Klein

Sometimes, I'd take shots without aiming, just to see what happened. I'd rush into crowds - bang! bang! ... It must be close to what a fighter feels after jabbing and circling and getting hit, when suddenly there's an opening, and bang! Right on the button. It's a fantastic feeling. — William Klein

I don't roam around with a camera and never did. I took pictures in spurts, for my books, for some assignments or on special occasions. Like people who take out their cameras for Christmas and birthdays. Each time, like them, probably, I feel it’s the first time and as if I would have to relearn the moves. Luckily, it comes pretty fast, like riding a bike. — William Klein

I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography. — William Klein

Life Lessons by William Klein

  1. William Klein's work teaches us to be bold and experimental in our photography, to push the boundaries of what is possible and to create something unique.
  2. His use of high contrast and dramatic angles also shows us the importance of composition in photography and how it can be used to create powerful images.
  3. Finally, Klein's work demonstrates the power of street photography to capture the essence of a city and its people in a single image.
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