I am not very interested in extraordinary angles. They can be effective on certain occasions, but I do not feel the necessity for them in my own work. Indeed, I feel the simplest approach can often be most effective. A subject placed squarely in the center of the frame, if attention is not distracted from it by fussy surroundings, has a simple dignity which makes it all the more impressive.

In my portraits I try to avoid the fleeting expression and vivacity of a snapshot.

A photographer must be prepared to catch and hold on to those elements which give distinction to the subject or lend it atmosphere.

Photographers should follow their own judgment, and not the fads and dictates of others.

I am not interested in rules or conventions. Photography is not a sport.

Andre Breton once said that a portrait should not only be an image but an oracle one questions, and that the photographer's aim should be a profound likeness, which physically and morally predicts the subject's entire future.

No amount of toying with shades of print or with printing papers will transform a commonplace photograph into anything other than a commonplace photograph.