Whether you were photographed just once by Bill Cunningham, or hundreds of times like his favored subjects Anna Wintour, Iris Apfel and Alexandra Lebenthal, it was an experience not to be forgotten. Here, some memories from people who found themselves of the other side of the lens from Mr. Cunningham. (Interviews have been edited and condensed.)

John Kurdewan

“He brought honesty. He’d say, ‘Do you think people are getting bored with my pages?’ I was with him when he was sick and in the hospital and he was still talking about his pages. He’d go, ‘26, 29, 31.’ The doctors said, ‘What is he saying?’ I said, ‘He’s telling me to take a photo and move it over here.’ To the very end, he was still working on his pages.”

At Bill Cunningham’s funeral on Thursday morning, Anna Wintour wore blue Carolina Herrera, Annette de la Renta had on a light pleated summer dress that went to the knee, and Mercedes Bass opted for basic black.

Bill Cunningham’s job is not so different from a fisherman’s: it requires a keen knowledge, honed over years, of the local ecosystem and infinite patience in all manner of weather conditions. His first big catch was an accident

He wanted to find subjects, not be the subject. He wanted to observe, rather than be observed. Asceticism was a hallmark of his brand.