Ryan McGinley Quotes & Sayings

“I went through a pretty big David Bowie period when I was younger, and that has affected me profoundly in my life and my work.”

“My photographs are a celebration of life, fun and the beautiful. They are a world that doesn't exist. A fantasy. Freedom is real. There are no rules. The life I wish I was living.”

“All I do is make photos. It's my life.”

“Everyone I'm photographing, I feel like I'm remaking a family, in a way. My brothers and sisters are my heroes. So many of my models resemble them.”

“I'm just a photographer, not a movie star.”

“I have absolutely no interest in creating depressing images.”

“I'm making the art for me first. I'm making it because these are the pictures I want to see. I'm making pictures that don't yet exist.”

“It's weird being a photographer because you really have to divorce yourself from the image.”

“I have a really big family, and pretty much all my work is about my brothers and sisters. I'm the youngest of eight - my mom had seven kids in seven years, and then she had me 11 years later - so I was basically raised by all these teenagers.”

“I can work with shyness, but for the most part I want people to feel comfortable with me. It's really more about the photographer feeing comfortable right when they walk in that makes the subject feel comfortable.”