160 Black and White Quotes: Brighten Your Shots with Bold Words

Are you that classy, creative soul who loves black-and-white photography?

If you’re filled with ideas for your shots, but lack inspiration for their captions… you’ve landed in your perfect place on the internet.

Here, we’re about to share quotes and captions for your black-and-white pics! You don’t need to do much, if not go through them, find your perfect fit, and then copy-paste it in your preferred social.

Sounds too good to be true? Go ahead and read this to believe it.

Short Black and White Quotes

If you want your black-and-white shot to speak for itself, without the need for more words… we understand. Find some short quotes below that are concise and go straight to the point.

1. "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." – Albert Einstein

2. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." – Leonardo da Vinci

3. "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." – James A. Garfield

4. "I can resist anything except temptation." – Oscar Wilde

5. "You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore." – William Faulkner

6. "To be, or not to be, that is the question." – William Shakespeare

7. "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." – James Baldwin

8. "The unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates

9. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." – Oscar Wilde

10. "Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils." – Louis Hector Berlioz

11. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." – George Santayana

12. "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." – William Ernest Henley

13. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." – Steve Jobs

15. "Courage is grace under pressure." – Ernest Hemingway

16. "The greatest wealth is to live content with little." – Plato

17. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." – Martin Luther King Jr.

18. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

19. "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." – John Lennon

20. "All men are created equal." – Declaration of Independence

Aesthetic Black and White Quotes

Okay, you’ve got all those perfectly aesthetic black-and-white shots that urge to be shared. Now what? Your caption needs to match that same level of artistry and style! We’ve got you covered. Check out these aesthetic quotes and choose your favorite.

21. "There is no remedy for love but to love more." – Henry David Thoreau

22. "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

23. "We do not remember days; we remember moments." – Cesare Pavese

24. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." – Unknown

25. "Everything you can imagine is real." – Pablo Picasso

26. "Not all those who wander are lost." – J.R.R. Tolkien

27. "One cannot step twice in the same river." – Heraclitus

28. "The mind is everything. What you think you become." – Buddha

29. "It is not length of life, but depth of life." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. "The best way out is always through." – Robert Frost

31. "Do not judge my story by the chapter you walked in on." – Unknown

32. "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." – Ernest Hemingway

33. "What we think, we become." – Buddha

34. "The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open." – Chuck Palahniuk

35. "If you want to be happy, be." – Leo Tolstoy

36. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." – John Lennon

37. "Do one thing every day that scares you." – Eleanor Roosevelt

38. "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." – Dr. Seuss

39. "The best revenge is massive success." – Frank Sinatra

40. "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." – Oscar Wilde

Motivational Black and White Quotes

If you want your post to be meaningful, not only from your shots but from your quotes too, check this out. Here are some motivational quotes that will perfectly fit your black-and-white shot description. Choose the best one and give your post a touch of extra purpose.

41. "It always seems impossible until it’s done." – Nelson Mandela

42. "The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible." – Charles Kingsleigh (Alice in Wonderland)

43. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

44. "The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

45. "Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear." – George Addair

46. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill

47. "Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." – Sam Levenson

48. "Believe you can and you’re halfway there." – Theodore Roosevelt

49. "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." – Confucius

50. "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." – C.S. Lewis

51. "The only impossible journey is the one you never begin." – Tony Robbins

52. "Opportunities don't happen, you create them." – Chris Grosser

53. "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." – C.S. Lewis

54. "Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world." – Roy T. Bennett

55. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." – Eleanor Roosevelt

56. "You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take." – Wayne Gretzky

57. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao Tzu

58. "Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits." – Jerry Dunn

59. "You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." – Zig Ziglar

60. "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." – William James

Instagram Black and White Quotes

Now, any of these quotes work for Instagram posts. However, here you’ll find quotes specially made for your black-and-white shots that you aim to post on the gram. Find the most trending, cool, and updated quotes.

61. "The best way to predict the future is to create it." – Abraham Lincoln

62. "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." – John Lennon

63. "You have to be odd to be number one." – Dr. Seuss

64. "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." – Jennifer Dukes Lee

65. "Happiness depends upon ourselves." – Aristotle

66. "Do it with passion or not at all." – Rosa N.

67. "Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." – Suzy Kassem

68. "Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." – Hafez

69. "Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking." – William Butler Yeats

70. "If you can dream it, you can do it." – Walt Disney

71. "Great things never come from comfort zones." – Anonymous

72. "Do one thing every day that scares you." – Eleanor Roosevelt

73. "The only limit is the one you set yourself." – Felix Baumgartner

74. "Sometimes you have to create what you want to be a part of." – Geri Weitzman

75. "When nothing goes right, go left." – Anonymous

76. "Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." – Christian D. Larson

77. "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." – Walt Disney

78. "Your only limit is your mind." – Anonymous

79. "A little progress each day adds up to big results." – Satya Nani

80. "Don't wait for opportunity, create it." – Anonymous

Black and White Quotes About Love

Let’s be honest - any lovey dobby picture will look great post-edited with a black-and-white filter. Here are some loving quotes that will match that classic romance with that black and white vintage touch, shots.

81. "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

82. "I have waited for this opportunity for more than half a century, to repeat to you once again my vow of eternal fidelity and everlasting love." – Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

83. "To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." – David Viscott

84. "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." – Aristotle

85. "We are most alive when we're in love." – John Updike

86. "The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." – Audrey Hepburn

87. "There is no remedy for love but to love more." – Henry David Thoreau

88. "Love is a friendship set to music." – Joseph Campbell

89. "I am yours, don’t give myself back to me." – Rumi

90. "Love is the only reality, and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation." – Rabindranath Tagore

91. "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." – Eden Ahbez

92. "Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do." – David Wilkerson

93. "True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself." – Honore de Balzac

94. "When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." – William Shakespeare

95. "Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other." – Euripides

96. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." – Martin Luther King Jr.

97. "Love is the most powerful force in the world. It transcends everything." – Lisa Kleypas

98. "I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul." – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

99. "There is no greater happiness than love and no greater sorrow than love lost." – Unknown

100. "Love is not finding someone to live with; it’s finding someone you can’t imagine living without." – Rafael Ortiz

Black and White Quotes About Life

If you’re more of a philosophical kind, don’t worry! We’ve got something for you too. Find below some quotes about life. They’ll perfectly match your black-and-white filter giving that extra wonder and meaning to your shots.

101. "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." – Confucius

102. "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

103. "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." – Mae West

104. "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." – Helen Keller

105. "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." – John Lennon

106. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." – Martin Luther King Jr.

107. "The unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates

108. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

109. "Life is a flower of which love is the honey." – Victor Hugo

110. "You don’t have to be richer than God to have a happy life, but you do have to decide, day by day, to live it." – Alice Walker

111. "I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats." – Eckhart Tolle

112. "The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge." – Bertrand Russell

113. "It is not length of life, but depth of life." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

114. "Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

115. "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain." – Unknown

116. "Life is too important to be taken seriously." – Oscar Wilde

117. "We do not remember days, we remember moments." – Cesare Pavese

118. "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." – Oscar Wilde

119. "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

120. "Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all." – Helen Keller

Self-Love Quotes in Black and White

It’s not always about others! What if your cool black-and-white shot is about you? Maybe you’d love to share some self-love vibes too. So here’s your perfect choice! Check these self-love quotes and choose what better matches your vibe!

121. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." – Oscar Wilde

122. "You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." – Buddha

123. "Self-love is not selfish; you cannot truly love another until you know how to love yourself." – RuPaul

124. "Love yourself first and everything else falls into line." – Lucille Ball

125. "The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself." – Steve Maraboli

126. "You are enough, just as you are." – Meghan Markle

127. "To accept ourselves as we are means to value our lives as they are." – Maxime Lagace

128. "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." – Oscar Wilde

129. "Self-love is the source of all other loves." – Pierre Corneille

130. "You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful." – Amy Bloom

131. "When you adopt the view that you are worthy of love, it opens your heart to the love that is already present." – Bryant McGill

132. "How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you." – Rupi Kaur

133. "Self-love is not about being narcissistic or self-absorbed, it is about self-respect." – Unknown

134. "The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate." – Unknown

135. "Self-love is the greatest middle finger of all time." – Unknown

136. "If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" – RuPaul

137. "You are your best thing." – Toni Morrison, Beloved

138. "If you have the ability to love, love yourself first." – RuPaul

139. "Self-love is a reflection of the love you have for your life." – Keshia Chante

140. "The more you love yourself, the less you’ll need to seek love from others." – Unknown

Black and White Photo Quotes

What if none of the above fully captured your attention? Maybe you’re looking for something more generic? Then have a look at the following quotes. They’re perfect for any kind of black-and-white photo!

141. "Photography is the story I fail to put into words." – Destin Sparks

142. "A picture is a poem without words." – Horace

143. "There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment." – Robert Frank

144. "Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is subjected." – Robert Frank

145. "Photography is the only language that can be understood anywhere in the world." – Bruno Barbey

146. "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." – Dorothea Lange

147. "I don’t trust words. I trust pictures." – Gilles Peress

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

149. "The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do." – Andy Warhol

150. "In photography, there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality." – Alfred Stieglitz

151. "Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second." – Marc Riboud

152. "Black-and-white photography has the ability to bring out the truth in a person’s soul." – Unknown

153. "Photography is the art of making memories tangible." – Destin Sparks

154. "A photograph is a pause button on life." – Unknown

155. "You don’t take a photograph, you make it." – Ansel Adams

156. "The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding, but you forget you are just there to take a picture." – Annie Leibovitz

157. "A photograph is a memory captured in a moment that never fades." – Unknown

158. "There’s nothing more engaging than the black-and-white moment, where every shade of gray tells a story." – Unknown

159. "Photography is truth. The cinema is truth 24 times per second." – Jean-Luc Godard

160. "To me, black-and-white is the best way to capture the soul of a moment." – Unknown

We hope we’ve saved you from being too out of words! Go and rock your gorgeous black-and-white shots!