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Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon Quotes

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Famous Richard Avedon Quotes

“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.”

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“A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.”

MomentsFactsEmotionOpinionPhotographyPhotographerPhotographTransformedAccuratePortraitsPhotography By PhotographersInspirational PhotographyPhoto ShootsDigital PhotographyFilm PhotographyPhotography And Film
Author:Richard Avedon
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“i'm beginning to feel like this. caught the incredible sunshine just in the nick of time today on my walk. the wall of rain approaching from the west desert was pretty spectacular, too. along with being gorgeous, it was sooo muddy. which made driving home in no shoes so very fun :) if only i could post photos here! a picture is worth a thousand words, yes? If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.”

IfsFeelsMadeHomeTodayFunWalksExistenceWallThousandEssentialsPhotographyRainWake UpWestIncrediblesShoesForgottenCaughtDrivingPostsDesertRelatedSunshineGorgeousSpectacularNeglectedMuddyDriving HomePicture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Author:Richard Avedon
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“I don't really remember the day when I stood behind my camera with Henry Kissinger on the other side. I am sure he doesn't remember it either. But this photograph is here now to prove that no amount of kindness on my part could make this photograph mean exactly what he.. or even I.. wanted it to mean. It's a reminder of the wonder and terror that is a photograph.”

MeanWantedRememberSidesBehindsWonderKindnessAmountProvePhotographyCamerasPhotographTerrorRemindersKissingerHenry Kissinger
Author:Richard Avedon
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“For hours she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that's-she did Marilyn Monroe. And then there was the inevitable drop. And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over, she sat in the corner like a child, with everything gone. I saw her sitting quietly without expression on her face, and I walked towards her but I wouldn't photograph her without her knowledge of it. And as I came with the camera, I saw that she was not saying no.”

ChildrenFacesNightHoursWhiteGoneSawsExpressionSittingCamerasWineDancingPhotographCornersInevitableSatSaying NoWhite WineSitting Quietly
Author:Richard Avedon
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“My photographs don't go below the surface. They don't go below anything. They're readings of the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A good one is full of clues. But whenever I become absorbed in the beauty of a face, in the excellence of a single feature, I feel I've lost what's really there been seduced by someone else's standard of beauty or by the sitter's own idea of the best in him. That's not usually the best. So each sitting becomes a contest.”

FeelsIdeasFacesReadingLostStandardsSittingExcellencePhotographSurfaceFeaturesContestsClueGreat FaithBelow The SurfaceStandards Of Beauty
Author:Richard Avedon
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“There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was an invention of hers. A genius invention that she created, like an author creates a character. She understood photography, and she also understood what makes a great photograph. She related to it as if she were giving a performance. She gave more to the still camera than any actress-any woman- I've ever photographed.”

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“Camera lies all the time. It’s all it does is lie, because when you choose this moment instead of this moment, when you… the moment you’ve made a choice, you’re lying about something larger. Lying is an ugly word. I don’t mean lying. But any artist picks and chooses what they want to paint or write about or say. Photographers are the same.”

WantWritingMeanDoeMadeMomentsLyingArtistChoicesPicksCamerasPaintPhotographerUglyYou Choose
Author:Richard Avedon
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“I hate cameras. They interfere, they’re always in the way. I wish: if I could just work with my eyes alone. To get a satisfactory print, one that contains all that you intended, is very often more difficult and dangerous than the sitting itself. When I’m photographing, I immediately know when I’ve got the image I really want. But to get the image out of the camera and into the open, is another matter.”

IfsKnowsWayWantMatterEyeHateWishDifficultDangerousSittingI HateCamerasIf I CouldPrintInterfere
Author:Richard Avedon
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