Skill Building

Brandon Stanton's 'Humans of New York' Photo Shoot Recreation

We were tasked with recreating Brandon Stanton's 'Humans of New York' photo shoot because it would help us build confidence, so it'd make it easier to interview people when carrying out our social awareness campaign. We started off by making plans to go out in groups to different locations and then split up to find people to take photos of.

Below are the main points that were needed to keep in mind when approaching people for their photos:

- Be calm and respectful

- Have a positive energy/vibe

- Have patience and determination

- Be friendly and don't be too formal

- Stay grounded

- Gain permission/ explain what's going on

- Have confidence/ 'act' like you're confident

- Be a good listener

- Make sure the camera 'becomes invisible' after you take the photo and start talking to the person

- Make eye contact

- Have open and confident body language

- Smile

However, I used Friday, Saturday and Sunday to go out on my own to my local areas and any other areas I knew well and take photos of people. I did this because I didn't want the pressure of going back to a group and feeling humiliation when telling them whether I was able to take any photos, as I knew this would discourage me. So, I went out on my own locally, which wasn't as daunting as the idea of going to a location I didn't really know with a group was. While it was still nerve-racking to ask to take stranger's photos, it was a easier on my own because I just got over it quickly when someone didn't allow me to take their photo and I just continued with the task, because I knew I had to get on with it - I also felt that it was easier without a group watching me, because I knew that that would've made me even more nervous than I already was.

Q: "What's your favourite thing about London?"

A: "All of the lights at night - I think they are absolutely beautiful. When they are all together, they create a nice atmosphere that doesn't feel the same anywhere else."

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: M: I'd love to live in Italy or Spain. I'd love to travel.

A: F: It'd be really fun to live somewhere that would give you a few stories to tell - I want to experience everything that Ireland has to offer.

Q: What's your biggest aspiration in life?

A: I want to be a photographer and take pictures that I'll be proud to look back on.

Q: Do you already do some photography?

A: Yeah, actually. I've been trying to take photos at family events and it's going well. Hopefully it inspires big things.

Q: If you could change something about London, what would it be?

A: Obviously the weather - it's raining now. I'll be counting down the days until it turns into summer.

Q: What's the best thing about summer?

A: The longer days. It doesn't get dark until really late - it's just so relaxing, knowing I can enjoy the daylight properly.

Photos That Didn't Work and Why

I chose to look at this photo and the one below because they are versions of two of the photos above. These photos didn't work as well as the two I chose to display. The one to the left has the subject looking away from the camera, which wasn't ideal, plus it has the phone in the shot too, which takes away focus from the person. I also didn't like the composition, the subject is in the middle but to the right slightly, which isn't what I was going for. I wanted to position the subject further to the side of the frame, and I wanted to make it a closer shot so the object isn't in the photo.

I didn't like the composition of this photo - again, I wanted to place the subject closer to the edge of the frame, which I managed to do correctly in the better version of this shot, and it accompanied my vision well. I also don't like the way the background blurs compared to the other photo. The lighting is also lower, which I don't like because I like to work with the bright daylight. I find that it makes the photos stand out in a brighter light, and it makes the photo more effective.

Brandon Stanton Videos

Evaluation Write Up

24th February 2017 (Friday)

We got into groups to begin making plans for the photo shoot, which would take place on Monday. However, since I had some time in between classes, I decided that I should go out with my camera on my own, and walk around my local area. I found that there was a lot less pressure without a group watching me, and being in an area that I knew made me feel better. It was easier to deal with rejection as well, because I could just get over it quickly in my head and move on, knowing I still needed to take photos - it was easier than turning and seeing the reactions of a group, and feeling humiliated in front of them, especially if they had already managed to gain permission to take people's photos and I was struggling. It made me determined to build up my own confidence, and I found that this worked a lot better without having anyone else that I knew around me.

27th February 2017 (Monday)

I went out on Saturday and Sunday and repeated this process, now walking around to areas that I knew in addition to local areas. I thought it was a lot better working on my own, because I also knew that when I create my social awareness campaign, I would be going out on my own to conduct interviews, if that's what I wanted to do. I learnt a little more independence with my work and how to start trying to control some of the anxiety I feel towards speaking to a stranger. I knew that I needed to control the situation, and I felt being alone to take photos gave me this. Not having a group with me meant that I didn't feel anyone watching, so it made the experience a little more comfortable. Being in areas that I knew also helped because it made me feel more familiar with my surroundings, so there wasn't any extra worry about travelling to somewhere I don't know. Being in familiar surroundings also helped ease my nerves a little, because it also gave me back some control of the situation.

My best photos are the ones on my production page - I had four photos (although there's two people in one, so technically I got five people to allow me to take their photos). I have one close up of a woman, and the background blurred really well due to the camera I used. I was able to focus on her and the background blurred, so she was the main subject. I have one wide shot of a couple and two mid shots of two girls. I took more than one photo for each, but the ones I've displayed on my production tab are the ones I felt looked the best in terms of the blur of the background and the poses of the people in them. I really liked the way these photos turned out because I thought they captured the people in them really well - I also asked them all one or two questions to go alongside the photos, which I wrote up and put them next to them.