Mario Testino Quotes

Powerful Mario Testino for Daily Growth

About Mario Testino

Mario Testino, a Peruvian-born fashion photographer renowned for his captivating portraits, was born on October 30, 1954, in Lima, Peru. His passion for photography emerged at an early age, influenced by the vibrant Peruvian culture and his grandmother's camera. After studying architecture at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, he realized his true calling was in the world of photography. In 1976, Testino moved to London to pursue a career in fashion photography. His unique ability to capture the essence of his subjects and his innate understanding of the fashion industry quickly set him apart. He worked with British Vogue for several years, contributing iconic images that showcased the spirit of the era. Testino's career reached new heights in 1997 when he shot Princess Diana for Vanity Fair. This influential session would become one of his most celebrated works and solidified his status as a global fashion powerhouse. His subsequent collaboration with the British Royal Family, including photographs of Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth II, further cemented his reputation. Throughout his illustrious career, Testino has worked with numerous fashion houses, including Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Chanel, and has photographed some of the most prominent figures in entertainment, politics, and royalty. His ability to create timeless, evocative images has earned him countless awards and recognition as one of the industry's greatest photographers. Today, Mario Testino continues to shape the fashion landscape with his unique vision, combining artistry, culture, and glamour in every frame.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Fashion is about dreaming and about having dreams come true."

Mario Testino's quote emphasizes that fashion serves as a means for individuals to express their aspirations, creativity, and imagination. It symbolizes turning dreams into reality. The clothing one wears often reflects their personal style, which is an outlet for self-expression and a manifestation of individuality. In this context, fashion becomes more than just garments; it represents the transformation from vision to tangible reality, making it an essential tool in realizing our creative dreams.


"A portrait should be like a good conversation: easy and enjoyable."

Mario Testino's quote suggests that a portrait, like a good conversation, should be effortless and engaging. This means that a successful portrait should convey the subject's essence in an approachable and pleasant manner, making the viewer feel as if they are having a natural, enjoyable interaction with the subject. Essentially, Testino emphasizes the importance of capturing genuine moments and personalities in portraiture.


"My approach to photography is very instinctive - I just let it happen."

This quote by Mario Testino emphasizes his natural, intuitive style in photography. He suggests that instead of strictly adhering to a planned or structured approach, he allows the creative process to unfold spontaneously, responding intuitively to the moment rather than relying heavily on premeditated strategies. This perspective underscores the importance of trusting one's instincts and embracing the freedom and fluidity that can lead to genuine and captivating images in the realm of photography.


"I always say, 'It's all in the eyes.' The more you look, the more you see."

Mario Testino's quote underscores the importance of observation and paying attention to details, particularly when it comes to understanding people or appreciating beauty. He suggests that as we spend more time looking at something – be it a person, an artwork, or a landscape – our perception deepens, and we begin to discern layers of complexity that might otherwise go unnoticed. This quote also implies that the ability to truly see is not just about physical vision but also about empathy, understanding, and openness. It encourages us to look beyond initial impressions and delve deeper into the essence of what we observe, thereby enriching our experience.


"You have to believe that what you do is going to change the world, otherwise you're not doing it right."

This quote suggests that to truly be effective in one's actions or work, there should be a strong belief that they will bring about significant and positive change in the world. It implies that if someone doesn't feel their endeavors have the potential to make a meaningful impact, then they may not be approaching their task with enough passion, dedication, or purpose. In essence, Mario Testino is encouraging us to believe in our capacity to positively shape the world around us and to approach our work with conviction and determination.


My favourite words are possibilities, opportunities and curiosity. I think if you are curious, you create opportunities, and then if you open the doors, you create possibilities.

- Mario Testino

Think, Possibilities, Create

I don't like a tormented photograph. Something attracts you in them, but the attraction isn't because she has a pot on her head or tonnes of make-up and weird clothes and weird everything.

- Mario Testino

Like, Make-Up, Them, Pot

There is something about Prince William and Prince Harry that brings real modernity to the British royal family. They are also very open, human, and kind, and this is what I have tried to capture in the pictures I have taken of them as well as in my pictures of Prince William and Catherine.

- Mario Testino

Very, About, Harry, Royal Family

Even someone as photographed and aware of the camera as members of the royal family needs to feel completely comfortable if they are to look their best.

- Mario Testino

Feel, Needs, Photographed, Royal Family

To me, the magic of photography, per se, is that you can capture an instant of a second that couldn't exist before and couldn't exist after. It's almost like a cowboy that draws his gun. You draw a second before or after, you miss and you're dead - not them. To me, photography's always like that.

- Mario Testino

Magic, Gun, Before, Per

When I see Kate Moss out and about, I think she looks more beautiful than when her hairdresser and make-up artist try and make her look like something else. And I remember when Madonna first asked Versace to book me to shoot a campaign with her, she came to see me wearing hardly any make-up, and she looked incredible.

- Mario Testino

I Remember, I Think, Make-Up, Hairdresser

I've always had an affinity with women. It probably started with my mother when I was young, but it was intensified by my sister, Elena, who is one year older than me. I used to hang out with her all the time, and whenever I travelled, I used to buy her clothes and style her.

- Mario Testino

Young, Year, Hang, Intensified

In the South America of the forties and fifties, everyone was into beauty and glamour and fashion.

- Mario Testino

Beauty, South America, South, Glamour

Being Peruvian means to come from the farthest place possible to get to Europe. Peru is the land of the Incas. It was the capital of South America; it was where the Spanish founded their empire and took over the Inca Empire and made it into a colony of Spain.

- Mario Testino

Spain, Capital, Colony, South America

Ultimately, I made my range wider because I wanted to suit each publication that I worked for. Talk about reinvention - I'm like the Madonna of photography.

- Mario Testino

Like, Madonna, Wider, Publication

There's a particular style that is very Peru that you don't see anywhere else; it's got so many different imprints. When you mix Incan minimalism with the heavy, ornate Spanish Baroque, it is very interesting.

- Mario Testino

Peru, Very, Anywhere, Baroque

Some people strive for perfection, but I often find perfection boring.

- Mario Testino

Strive, Boring, Some, Perfection

I have no real training in the history of fine art or furniture; my eye just works by proportions. I react intuitively. In London, it's all about color because the weather is so gray, and in that cold light they look beautiful.

- Mario Testino

Color, London, Works, Proportions

I studied law, economy, international relations, communications, in order to find what I would do. It's the hardest thing, being 17 and trying to find what to do in life. You've explored so little. I'm lucky: My parents let me explore.

- Mario Testino

Lucky, The Hardest Thing, Relations

My favourite subjects at school were algebra and logic: making a big problem into something small.

- Mario Testino

Small, Big, Making, Algebra

Grunge came from a group of English photographers, and they were documenting their own reality... I'm South American - we celebrate life.

- Mario Testino

Celebrate, Grunge, South, Documenting

However spontaneous I hope a photograph will look, I always put a lot of thought into how I can make it happen. The very best pictures are the most relaxed, so a lot of fussing around technically can completely break the spell, and everyone freezes up with nerves.

- Mario Testino

Thought, Very, However, Spontaneous

At the beginning of my career, as a boy from Peru in London, suddenly discovering British culture and society, I looked so much at the work of the photographers Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson, which seemed to represent a wonderful vanished grandeur of my new country.

- Mario Testino

Career, London, Country, Norman

When you're nice, people like you and will want to work with you. But it can mean that they take you for granted.

- Mario Testino

Will, Like, Take, Nice People

A photograph can make you feel so many different things. When you look at war photographs of Vietnam, or something similar, it makes you feel anguish and sadness and pain. Then in other moments, when you look at Jackie Kennedy walking down Fifth Avenue, that makes you feel glory and richness.

- Mario Testino

Sadness, Feel, Other, Different Things

I find that my entire life has come to me, and things happened without me planning them. You know, I never asked to photograph Princess Diana, and that made me more famous than I wanted. I never asked to photograph Madonna, and that pushed me to another level. There are things that just take you into the limelight.

- Mario Testino

Life, Another, Entire, Limelight

I said to my mother, 'When you see my name in 'Vogue,' I will have arrived.'

- Mario Testino

Mother, See, Arrived, Vogue

Some of my friends say that I only talk about myself. But it is funny: my house is covered in art but with nothing of my own, and when I'm working, I'm only thinking about what the client wants. So I don't see it that way, but maybe it's true. I mean, they are my friends.

- Mario Testino

Own, Some, Maybe, Client

At the end of the '90s, I was very bored with the usual models, so I discovered a new generation that impressed me with their fresh look. I still keep working with models like Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss, and I am still looking for new, interesting faces. Life is about discovery, and you should never stop searching.

- Mario Testino

Discovered, Very, Impressed, Fresh

When I had photographed Prince William's mother, I brought along a CD of Dalida, a French singer, that we played on set all day to relax everyone. I decided to do the same thing for Catherine and William. The contrast of the contemporary informal music playing in the beautiful rooms with so much history caused a lot of laughter.

- Mario Testino

Singer, Rooms, Brought, French

At one moment, I thought that if I didn't do a picture in a certain way, then it wasn't a 'Mario Testino Picture.' And I've realized that Mario Testino is everything, Mario Testino is whatever he feels like being, because it always ends up looking like me, whatever I do.

- Mario Testino

Thought, Certain Way, Feels, Mario

I never notice a difference between photographing a man and a woman; for me, it's just somebody.

- Mario Testino

Woman, Me, Never, Notice

My original idea was to photograph Princess Diana in her tiara. But then I thought, am I interested in seeing another picture of her as a royal person, or would I rather see what she is actually about? And that's why I decided to do her without jewels, without shoes, without trimmings.

- Mario Testino

Thought, Idea, Rather, Jewels

Oh my God, the graduate shows in London are so important! I still remember going to see John Galliano's graduate collection - that was an event I'll never forget.

- Mario Testino

London, Still, Oh My God, Graduate

There are never any absolutes in the fashion business: one day you may like black, and the next day you like colour. I think it's a good lesson that we should never believe too much in any one thing - because the next day it's out, and if we're stuck to it, we're out, too.

- Mario Testino

Next, One Day, I Think, Stuck

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