--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My photographs don't go below the…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/richard-avedon-10149_beauty_my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surfac_805899.jpg" --- # My photographs don't go below the surface. They don't go… ![“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…” quote by Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/richard-avedon-10149_beauty_my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surfac_805899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/richard-avedon-10149_beauty_my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surfac_805899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/richard-avedon-10149_beauty_my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surfac_805899.jpg) > “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.” [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 should focus on the outer layer where truth lies, not be distracted by idealized beauty or external standards. **In simple terms:** Look at the surface for real clues. Key Takeaway Prioritize authentic surface details. Themes photography authenticity perception beauty competition Mood contemplative analytical artistic Type observational philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - portrait sessions - artistic critique - personal expression - client interaction Key Concepts visual perception truth subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance surface detail with inner depth? - What defines a 'good' surface in your work? A Different Perspective Surface focus may miss deeper emotional context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absorbed Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorbed-beauty-4781732/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Below the surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/below-the-surface/) [Clue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clue/) [Contests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contests/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Features](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/features/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Great faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-faith/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photographs Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographs-don-753130/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Readings Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readings-surface-935244/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Standards of beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards-of-beauty/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) ## Related quotes > [My photographs don't go below the surface. 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By that I mean, my photographs don't look like hers. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-arbus/my-mother-s-work-has-been-an-enormous-influence-on-me-but-not/) [Amy Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-arbus/) > [The photographs don't arouse me. All I can think about is the hard work it took to make them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/the-photographs-don-t-arouse-me-all-i-can-think-about-is-the-hard/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [I never take photographs myself. I don’t feel like a photographer, more like a recycler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/i-never-take-photographs-myself-i-don-t-feel-like-a-photographer-more/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [A good print is really essential. 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You can find them on eBay and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/i-ve-been-collecting-photographs-since-i-don-t-know-when-for-a-long/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [There are photographs that I don't take now that I previously would have taken without any thought at all as to any misinterpretations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jock-sturges/there-are-photographs-that-i-don-t-take-now-that-i-previously-would/) [Jock Sturges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jock-sturges/) > [I don't look at other photographs much at all. I don't know why. 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But what I hope to do is photograph people of accomplishment, not celebrity, and help define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-ve-photographed-just-about-everyone-in-the-world-but-what-i-hope-to/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [If each photograph steals a bit of the soul, isn't it possible that I give up pieces of mine every time I take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/if-each-photograph-steals-a-bit-of-the-soul-isn-t-it-possible-that-i/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Marilyn Monroe gave more to the still camera than any actress, any woman I've ever photographed; infinitely more patient, more demanding of herself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/marilyn-monroe-gave-more-to-the-still-camera-than-any-actress-any/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [ It's in trying to direct the traffic between Artiface \[sic\] and Candor, without being run over, that I'm confronted with the questions about photography… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/it-s-in-trying-to-direct-the-traffic-between-artiface-sic-and-candor/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [A portrait is not a likeness. 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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 Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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