A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.
Diane Arbus

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do - that was one of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.
Diane Arbus

I never have taken a picture I've intended. They're always better or worse.
Diane Arbus

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.
Diane Arbus

I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don't like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.
Diane Arbus

Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding.
Diane Arbus

Men are but children of a larger growth, Our appetites as apt to change as theirs, And full as craving too, and full as vain.
Diane Arbus

Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats.
Diane Arbus

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.
Diane Arbus

My favourite thing is to go where I've never been.
Diane Arbus


Nothing is ever the same as they said it was.
Diane Arbus

Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.
Diane Arbus

The more specific you are, the more general it'll be.
Diane Arbus

The thing that's important to know is that you never know. You're always sort of feeling your way.
Diane Arbus

The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.
Diane Arbus

When you grow up your mother says, 'Wear rubbers or you'll catch cold.' When you become an adult you discover that you have the right not to wear rubbers and to see if you catch cold or not. It's something like that.
Diane Arbus

You see someone on the street, and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw.
Diane Arbus