The Best Helmut Newton quotes

Some people`s photography is an art. Mine is not. If they happen to be exhibited in a gallery or a museum, that`s fine. But that`s not why I do them. I`m a gun for hire. — Helmut Newton

The point of my photography has always been to challenge myself, to go a little further than my Germanic discipline and Teutonic nature would traditionally permit me to. — Helmut Newton

Genius and taste don’t go together. — Helmut Newton

I like photographing the people I love, the people I admire, the famous, and especially the infamous. My last infamous subject was the extreme right wing French politician Jean–Marie Le Pen. — Helmut Newton

I hate good taste. It’s the worst thing that can happen to a creative person. — Helmut Newton

It’s that I don’t like white paper backgrounds. A woman does not live in front of white paper. She lives on the street, in a motor car, in a hotel room. — Helmut Newton

The desire to discover, the desire to move, to capture the flavor, three concepts that describe the art of photography. — Helmut Newton

People gave us everything for free. We were allowed only so much film per picture, but there was no limit to the creativity. I like to say that they let us loose like wild dogs in the streets of Paris. — Helmut Newton

The whole series is black–and–white, so when I went to shoot one of the women I only had black–and–white film with me. She had reddish hair and was a very pretty girl, a nice girl. — Helmut Newton

Technically, I have not changed very much. Ask my assistants. They’ll tell you, I am the easiest photographer to work with. I don’t have heavy equipment. I work out of one bag. — Helmut Newton

You should feel that, under the right conditions, all women would be available. — Helmut Newton

I am very attracted by bad taste–it is a lot more exciting than that supposed good taste which is nothing more than a standardized way of looking at things. — Helmut Newton

Photography is 10% inspiration and 90% moving furniture. — Helmut Newton

In the photographs themselves there’s a definite contrast between the figures and the location–I like that kind of California backyard look; clapboard houses, staircases outdoors. — Helmut Newton

What I try to do is a good bad picture. I work it out very carefully, and then I do something that looks as if it went wrong. — Helmut Newton

I was lucky to have my wife as the art director, and it turned out to be quite something–a great success. I’m very proud of it. — Helmut Newton

My women are always victorious. — Helmut Newton

It’s quite true that what I am aiming at, even when I take portraits, is to get a scandalous picture. I would love to be a paparazzo. — Helmut Newton

Well, it takes a certain amount of money. And I’ve got to see pictures of the person ahead of time. If I don’t like the way the person looks I won’t do it. — Helmut Newton

Some people’s photography is an art. Not mine. Art is a dirty word in photography. All this fine art crap is killing it already. — Helmut Newton

They often ask me to shoot for them. But I say no. I think an old guy like me ought not take pages away from young photographers who need the exposure. — Helmut Newton