--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A portrait photographer depends upon…" description: "\"A portrait photographer depends upon another person to complete his picture. The subject imagined, which in a sense is me, must be discovered in someon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/richard-avedon-10149_depends_a-portrait-photographer-depends-upon-ano_1063606.jpg" --- # A portrait photographer depends upon another person to… ![“A portrait photographer depends upon another person to complete his picture. The subject imagined, which in a sense is me, must be discovered in someone else willing to take part in a fiction he cannot possibly know about.” quote by Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/richard-avedon-10149_depends_a-portrait-photographer-depends-upon-ano_1063606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/richard-avedon-10149_depends_a-portrait-photographer-depends-upon-ano_1063606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/richard-avedon-10149_depends_a-portrait-photographer-depends-upon-ano_1063606.jpg) > “A portrait photographer depends upon another person to complete his picture. The subject imagined, which in a sense is me, must be discovered in someone else willing to take part in a fiction he cannot possibly know about.” [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A photographer relies on the subject’s willingness to embody a fictional narrative, revealing the photographer’s own imagination through another person. **In simple terms:** Photographer needs subject’s participation to express his vision. Key Takeaway Embrace collaboration to reveal hidden perspectives. Themes creativity collaboration identity artistic process Mood introspective thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio sessions - personal projects - exhibitions - teaching photography Key Concepts portraiture subjectivity fiction Questions to Reflect On - How does the subject’s agency shape the final image? - What does this say about the photographer’s self‑reflection? A Different Perspective Subject may resist or misinterpret the intended narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photographer Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer-depends-2610266/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-subject-2610268/) [Portrait Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait-photographer-967473/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Subject Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-imagined-2610267/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) ## Related quotes > [I think if you don't love people and aren't fascinated by them, you'll never succeed as a portrait photographer, because your pictures will look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rankin/i-think-if-you-don-t-love-people-and-aren-t-fascinated-by-them-you-ll/) [Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rankin/) > [ \[Elsa Dorfman\]was well known. Certainly in the Boston area, she's well known as a portrait photographer. My wife always wanted to meet her and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/elsa-dorfman-was-well-known-certainly-in-the-boston-area-she-s-well/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [So many people dislike themselves so thoroughly that they never see any reproduction of themselves that suits. None of us is born with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/so-many-people-dislike-themselves-so-thoroughly-that-they-never-see/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [“It’s because I’m a witch that I can take these pictures,” Jennie said.  “A good portrait photographer shows the outside of a person; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-geary/it-s-because-i-m-a-witch-that-i-can-take-these-pictures-jennie-said-a/) [Debora Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-geary/) > [You can never capture a person in picture, never. You might get an interesting expression or gesture. I almost never research a picture subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/you-can-never-capture-a-person-in-picture-never-you-might-get-an/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [I have a genuine philosophy. 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The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-portrait-is-not-a-likeness-the-moment-an-emotion-or-fact-is/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [When you pose for a photograph, it's behind a smile that isn't yours. You are angry and hungry and alive. What I value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/when-you-pose-for-a-photograph-it-s-behind-a-smile-that-isn-t-yours/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-am-and-forever-will-be-devastated-by-the-gift-of-audrey-hepburn/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he's being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-photographic-portrait-is-a-picture-of-someone-who-knows-he-s-being/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) ## More by Richard Avedon > [A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-photographic-portrait-is-a-picture-of-someone-who-knows-he-is-being/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/snapshots-that-have-been-taken-of-me-working-show-something-i-was-not/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/sometimes-i-think-all-my-pictures-are-just-pictures-of-me/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [There's always been a separation between fashion and what I call my deeper work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/there-s-always-been-a-separation-between-fashion-and-what-i-call-my/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I can see myself as a very old man in a terrific wheelchair. 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I am sure he doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-don-t-really-remember-the-day-when-i-stood-behind-my-camera-with/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [And 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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/and-if-a-day-goes-by-without-my-doing-something-related-to/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) [Explore all 67 Richard Avedon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) ## More Depends quotes > [It all depends on you. 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Even now, which country is worse depends on the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/india-may-be-overtaking-china-as-the-world-s-most-polluted-country/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [What my day is like depends on where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniela-pestova/what-my-day-is-like-depends-on-where-i-am/) [Daniela Pestova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniela-pestova/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. 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