--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a subject has a delicate surface to…" description: "\"If a subject has a delicate surface to it, you do not want to go charging in there. You need to establish some kind of presence and understanding. I wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/william-albert-allard-40395_approach_if-a-subject-has-a-delicate-surface-to-i_3123498.jpg" --- # If a subject has a delicate surface to it, you do not want… ![“If a subject has a delicate surface to it, you do not want to go charging in there. You need to establish some kind of presence and understanding. I will say, Try to forget I'm here. I won't ask you to pose, I won't ask you to do anything. It's important that I just be allowed to be around, to be…” quote by William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/william-albert-allard-40395_approach_if-a-subject-has-a-delicate-surface-to-i_3123498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/william-albert-allard-40395_approach_if-a-subject-has-a-delicate-surface-to-i_3123498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb8/william-albert-allard-40395_approach_if-a-subject-has-a-delicate-surface-to-i_3123498.jpg) > “If a subject has a delicate surface to it, you do not want to go charging in there. You need to establish some kind of presence and understanding. I will say, Try to forget I'm here. I won't ask you to pose, I won't ask you to do anything. It's important that I just be allowed to be around, to be present. Photographing people requires a willingness to be rejected. So, I think the best approach is to be honest and direct. Very often, I tell them, You don't know me. There's no reason why you should trust me... the only thing I can promise is that I'll try to do the most honest work I can.” [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When dealing with sensitive subjects, prioritize presence and honesty over force; let them feel safe and unpressured. **In simple terms:** Be present and honest, not demanding. Key Takeaway Earn trust through respectful presence. Themes trust presence honesty photography ethics Mood reflective empathetic Type advice instructional When to use this quote - portrait sessions - documentary projects - interviews - street photography Key Concepts Empathy boundaries authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain authenticity while respecting boundaries? - What signals show a subject feels safe? A Different Perspective Some subjects may still reject you despite honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-work/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Photographing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographing/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) [You don't know me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-don-t-know-me/) ## Related quotes > [ My approach is to be honest-really honest-and consistent. That is what any growth will take. It is an issue I think \[young\] generation can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-angela-davis/my-approach-is-to-be-honest-really-honest-and-consistent-that-is-what/) [Michaela Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-angela-davis/) > [Ultimately success or failure in photographing people depends on the photographer's ability to understand his fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/ultimately-success-or-failure-in-photographing-people-depends-on-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Photography is very presumptuous. Photographers are always photographing other people's lives - something they know nothing about - and drawing great inferences into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-is-very-presumptuous-photographers-are-always/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [My way in for photographing people is really their work. I'm always interested in what people make, and then I photograph the person. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/my-way-in-for-photographing-people-is-really-their-work-i-m-always/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [I love photographing people in New York; it has such a great cross-section of people from all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccartney/i-love-photographing-people-in-new-york-it-has-such-a-great-cross/) [Mary McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccartney/) > [I've never been comfortable photographing people I know, myself included. I guess I prefer the mystery of strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-ve-never-been-comfortable-photographing-people-i-know-myself/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I started photographing people on the street during World War II. I used a little box Brownie. Nothing too expensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cunningham/i-started-photographing-people-on-the-street-during-world-war-ii-i/) [Bill Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cunningham/) > [Sometimes photographing people is like pulling teeth, trying to get some sort of personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-taylor-johnson/sometimes-photographing-people-is-like-pulling-teeth-trying-to-get/) [Sam Taylor-Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-taylor-johnson/) > [There's always been something illicit about the way I work. I'm photographing people I don't know, when nobody else is home - there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-grannan/there-s-always-been-something-illicit-about-the-way-i-work-i-m/) Katy Grannan > [I'm more interested in photographing people who have done something, like writers or directors - even billionaires - as long as I can study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-carrozzini/i-m-more-interested-in-photographing-people-who-have-done-something/) Francesco Carrozzini > [I like photographing the people I love, the people I admire, the famous, and especially the infamous. My last infamous subject was the extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/i-like-photographing-the-people-i-love-the-people-i-admire-the-famous/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [I hate having my photograph taken and I try to keep that in mind when I'm photographing other people. But the best photos that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-hate-having-my-photograph-taken-and-i-try-to-keep-that-in-mind-when/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [I'm not interested into victim photography. Photographing people suffering and putting it on a museum wall is too weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-misrach/i-m-not-interested-into-victim-photography-photographing-people/) [Richard Misrach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-misrach/) > [I'm very little drawn to photographing people that are known or even subjects that are known. They fascinate me when I've barely heard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/i-m-very-little-drawn-to-photographing-people-that-are-known-or-even/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [I like taking photographs, because I like life. And I like photographing people best of all, because most of all I love humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horst-p-horst/i-like-taking-photographs-because-i-like-life-and-i-like/) Horst P. Horst ## More by William Albert Allard > [Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/words-and-pictures-can-work-together-to-communicate-more-powerfully/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [I believe in the resonance and staying power of quiet photographs. These photographs required a certain seeing, but few special techniques, and no tricks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/i-believe-in-the-resonance-and-staying-power-of-quiet-photographs/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [All I need is my brains, my eyes and my personality, for better or for worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/all-i-need-is-my-brains-my-eyes-and-my-personality-for-better-or-for/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [Photography is a way of introducing people to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/photography-is-a-way-of-introducing-people-to-other-people/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [What is right? Simply put, it is any assignment in which the photographer has a significant spiritual stake...spiritually driven work constitutes the core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/what-is-right-simply-put-it-is-any-assignment-in-which-the/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [You have to care. You can't do good work if you don't care. That's not necessarily a strength, but it gives you strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/you-have-to-care-you-can-t-do-good-work-if-you-don-t-care-that-s-not/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [You've got to push yourself harder. You've got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You've got to take the tools you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/you-ve-got-to-push-yourself-harder-you-ve-got-to-start-looking-for/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [What's really important is to simplify. The work of most photographers would be improved immensely if they could do one thing: get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/what-s-really-important-is-to-simplify-the-work-of-most-photographers/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [I think the best pictures are often on the edges of any situation, I don't find photographing the situation nearly as interesting as photographing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/i-think-the-best-pictures-are-often-on-the-edges-of-any-situation-i/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) > [In my photography, color and composition are inseparable. I see in color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-albert-allard/in-my-photography-color-and-composition-are-inseparable-i-see-in-color/) [William Albert Allard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) [Explore all 11 William Albert Allard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-albert-allard/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) [Browse all 3,949 Approach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a subject has a delicate surface to it, you do not want to go charging in there. You need to establish some kind of presence and understanding. I will say, Try to forget I'm here. I won't ask you to pose, I won't ask you to do anything. 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