I want my photographs not only to be real but to portray the essence of my subjects also. In order to do that, you have to be patient.

I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul.

In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.

Finding the right subject is the hardest part.

Everyone asks me how I get my subjects to open up to me. There’s no formula to it. It’s just a matter of who you are and how you talk to people - of being yourself.

Nowadays shots are created in post-production, on computers. It's not really photography.

I think you have to have a real point of view that's your own. You have to tell it your way. And, I think that it's a mistake to shoot for a specific magazine's point of view because it's never going to be as good. You have to shoot for yourself and photograph [ the way] you believe it.