Street Style Anthropology
Monday, March 26, 2012
Fieldnotes, Day One
My first day of street style blogging was a qualified success. I spent three hours out and ended up with several good images. Of course, they were all of the same guy, Erik, a photogenic vintage shop owner, who seemed utterly unphased being asked to be photographed for a street style blog. I got the impression this wasn't his first time. Here are some of the lessons I learned from my first day of shooting: 1) most people aren't all that distinctive. It can take hours just to find someone interesting to shoot. Plus, it took me close to two hours just to work up the nerve. 2) Street style shots are best done in high traffic areas. South Street and Passyunk on a windy Monday afternoon = not so good. Walnut St and Rittenhouse Square proved more fruitful, even if less populated with hipsters. And 3) if you want to get a good shot, you have to stop moving. The more you move, the less you see and the slower your response time. Better to become a fixture.
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I can help you with that getting up the nerve part. Have the PERFECT antidote.
ReplyDeleteCurious to hear it. But a little afraid to ask.
DeleteThe nerves will disapear after about 3 more subjects. Then you will become ruthless and start bothering people enjoying lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Ha! Sometimes I have to take a step back and realize that not every situation is okay to interrupt in order to get a shot for my blog.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like the way you worded your first observation. This is so true. I believe that most people work to dress in a way that will prevent them from being noticed... they are trying to blend in. Sometimes these people accidentally nail it with an outfit that catches my eye. I believe these are the handful of people who have turned me down in my years of doing this. It seems the last thing that they wanted was for someone to notice what they were wearing and they react almost offended (or perhaps embarrased/selfconcious) that I have. I find this group really interesting.
Thanks for the comments and encouragement. And you're right, 3 more subjects was the trick! Then it just got fun. My own, probably obvious observation is that people who dress up seem to want to be noticed. In fact, most people I've shot so far are quite nonchalant about it.
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