Since Henri Cartier-Bresson picked up a 50mm Leica camera and gave birth to photojournalism at the beginning of the 20th century; we have been fascinated by candid shots of people on the street. At the end of the Nineties, the advent of the internet has seen an explosion of interest in the phenomenon of street style, none more apparent than in the case of The Sartorialist.
DD: Has there been a specific favourite highlight over the last few years?
Scott Schuman: The moment when I really knew I was on to something was when I would get these really beautiful, heartfelt emails from people. So it’s those things – the true emotional response from people, ‘cos you can’t buy that. The next steps were having someone like Carine Rotifeld ask me to shoot something for Paris Vogue, that was a big deal. But the number one thing was the community we were able to create on the blog that crosses a lot of different cultures. That’s probably the thing that’s going to last the longest.
DD: How does it feel to hear that respected designers like Lucas Ossendrijver use your pics in their mood boards?
Scott Schuman: Oh it’s great, I love that. When I was in fashion I would work with designers so I would know how they work. So that’s how I want to shoot it. I don’t want to shoot things that are trendy. By the time you shoot it, it’s over. I want to shoot things that I was reacting to whether it was perfect or not. I’m glad that some really great designers are using the site in the way I hoped that they would.
DD: What did you make of The Refinery29’s chart of how to get photographed by The Sartorialist?
Scott Schuman: Of course I saw that. I saw it within minutes of when it went up. I got 40 emails about it! I thought it was done in good fun and the thing that I like about it is that it has so many different branches. People think I only shoot one kind of thing and there are so many different branches there – young and old. When you build something successful, those are the kind of things that you can expect.
DD: How did you find making the transition to shooting for mags and major ad campaigns?
Scott Schuman: Everybody wants me to do my own thing. Because I never been to many other shoots before my own, I had no qualms telling people what to do on my own shoots! The transition’s actually been great because I shoot in the exact same way that I do. I tell my agent, “Don’t put me in a situation I can’t win.” I only accept jobs that I will be able to shoot in my way. I’m lucky I’ve been able to shoot a lot more, and my ability as a photographer has grown and grown, but the essence is the same. It really is the next step of what I do.
Article excerpted from dazeddigital.com
