Snapshots that have been taken of me working show something I was not aware of at all, that over and over again I'm holding my own body or my own hands exactly like the person I'm photographing. I never knew I did that, and obviously what I'm doing is trying to feel, actually physically feel, the way he or she feels at the moment I'm photographing them in order to deepen the sense of connection.
Richard AvedonCamera lies all the time. Itโs all it does is lie, because when you choose this moment instead of this moment, when youโฆ the moment youโve made a choice, youโre lying about something larger. Lying is an ugly word. I donโt mean lying. But any artist picks and chooses what they want to paint or write about or say. Photographers are the same.
Richard AvedonI am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there. I can only record. I cannot interpret her. There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait.
Richard Avedon