Cinematography Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old cinematography quotes, cinematography sayings, and cinematography proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

In old movies, the cinematography is a thousand times better than anything today. Writing, a thousand times better. John Kricfalusi
Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities... much more so than music or language. Conrad Hall
Cinematography is so much about instinct and intuition - you want the same range of experience going into behind the camera as what you see in front of it. Your life experience will come through the lens. Rachel Morrison
You make the movie through the cinematography - it sounds quite a simple idea, but it was like a huge revelation to me. Nicolas Roeg
I like movies where you can come back and re-watch them and admire the cinematography 25 years later. Rob Zombie
Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion. Rachel Morrison
A lot of cinematography is intuition. It's an art, not a formula. Reed Morano
What sets us apart is our drive to have the best cinematography. We work hard to get shots that nobody else has. Steve Winter
The future of cinematography belongs to a new race of young solitaries who will shoot films by putting their last penny into it and not let themselves be taken in by the material routines of the trade. Robert Bresson
I think people just see cinematography as being about photography and innovative shots and beautiful lighting. We all want our movies to look great visually, to be beguiling and enticing, but I think that what really defines a great cinematographer is one who loves story. Seamus MacGarvey
Eventually, I think cinematography for every culture is a way to explore different stories, different ways of also delivering a story. Violante Placido
I don't really believe in the mystery of cinematography - what happens in the camera is what the cinematographers create and all that nonsense. Roger Dea
The cinematography is as much involved with the physicality of the scene, so a lot of our shots are hand-held. I felt the cinematographer needed to be the fourth-character with the same drive as the actors. J. Robert Spencer
Not all pictures but some pictures you're like, 'Wow, I wish I could be there' or you feel like you are there. I don't know what it is about cinematography. Scoot McNairy
I believe that filmmakers have to internalize the story and subtext so well that all of the departments can start to speak to each other - that music can speak to cinematography, that can speak to writing and back again. Shane Carruth
The incredible cinematography makes 'A Walk to Beautiful' almost like a poem; there is a tenderness on display that seems to emanate from the camera. There is also great sensitivity to the women whose stories are being told - never did I have a sense of the subjects being exploited. Abraham Verghese
Some directors don't get involved in the cinematography and are just about story, but I'm definitely more tactile than that in terms of my involvement in the minutiae. Cary Fukunaga
Cinematography is a writing with images in movement and with sounds. Robert Bresson
Eventually, I think cinematography for every culture is a way to explore different stories, different ways of also delivering a story. Violante Placido
And the best films feel like a fist punching you in the solar plexus and all elements of the filmmaking process - the acting, the design, the cinematography, the music, is all working to one end. Ethan Hawke