Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwittis an advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings— a master of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment"...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth26 July 1928
CountryFrance
photographer vocation trade
I am a professional photographer by trade and an amateur photographer by vocation.
stars movement way
In those simpler days, you could just take pictures of movie stars and show them the way they were, as normal human beings. And if I felt part of any movement at the time, it was just to do that - to be journalistic and photograph what is, rather than what is made up.
morning interesting cameras
When I get up in the morning I brush my teeth and go about my business, and if I am going anywhere interesting I take my camera along.
photography lenses photographer
Be sure to take the lens cap off before photographing.
photography mean thinking
I'm almost violent about that stuff - electronic manipulation of pictures. I think it's an abomination. I reject it all. I mean, it's OK for selling corn flakes or automobiles or for taking pimples out of Elizabeth Taylor's face, but it undermines the thing that photography is about, which is about observation and not about manipulation of images.
photography goal laughing
Making people laugh is one of the highest achievements you can have. And when you can make someone laugh and cry, alternatively, as Chaplin does - now that's the highest of all personal achievements. I don't know that I aim for it, but I recognize it as the supreme goal.
photography appreciate people
As a professional photographer I take photographs for other people to see - but I want them to see what I see. So I never assume that only a few people will appreciate what I do. At all times, the public should be able to understand what I've done, even if they don't understand how I've done it.
dog mind compromise
Dogs don't mind being photographed in compromising situations.
photography children school
Everybody's got to do something... I'd been on my own since an early age and I thought I better find something to do to buy biscuits and stuff. From high school onwards I was earning my way with photography, one way or another, working in darkrooms and taking pictures of weddings, neighbors' children and so on.
photography noticing-you matter
You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them.
photography want photographer
You must have a visual sense if you want to be a photographer. It is a very subtle thing, this visual business.
photography magic crafts
Photography is a craft. Anyone can learn a craft with normal intelligence and application. To take it beyond the craft is something else. That's when magic comes in. And I don't know that there's any explanation for that.
photographer ill
Ill always be an amateur photographer.
years seven-years seven
All of my marriages lasted seven years.