There is so much I love about this photo of Marie Clare‘s Taylor Tomasi-Hill and Joanna Hillman from Harper’s Bazaar. Sure, they’re both dripping in insanely fashionable items. I was obviously drooling over the Alexander Wang ribbon skirt and leather clutch. There’s nothing particularly surprising about these women looking phenomenally good, although I must admit that Joanna gives Anna Dello Russo a run for her money in the “most toned legs” street-style award category.
Beyond all the hip accessories and bleeding-edge fashion, what is this a photo of? Friends laughing together. It’s so simple, a universal human experience, people bonding over a good chuckle. I love that Joanna is the one who made Taylor laugh. Every time I saw the two interact on the street they appeared to be genuine friends. Great photos cause an emotional reaction, and this one sparks a natural sense of curiosity about the subjects. A really great photo, particularly a street-style photo, has to contain a number of different layers. For me, there needs to be a depth that goes beyond composition and lighting (although obviously I’m working on those, too). There has to be a soul. A two-dimensional, soul. After all, that’s what makes still photography so tough!
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Finally, I figured it out. The personal chord that Monica’s outfit struck in Megan is precisely the type of internal reaction I am hoping to spark in the people who read my blog. I cannot tell you how happy it made me to see that kind of reaction in someone looking at my photo. I never get to see that in real life because I’m separated from you readers by cyberspace. It’s why I include photos of brides jumping and little girls playing alongside the more typical street-style images like Monica’s or a PS11 at NYFW. This blog has evolved into a record of my journey as a photographer. In a very strange way what started off as a site dedicated entirely to other people became a blog about myself.
But let’s be honest here, the real credit goes to the over 1,100 individuals who have been featured on my blog. My job as a street-style photographer is to provide a platform for all the stylish people I meet to express their creativity. The people who are actually on my blog is where the primary focus should be. They’re the true stars. It’s why, whenever I’m asked in interviews ‘who inspires me,’ I always respond with, “the people on my blog.” That being said, as I get better at photography I’m trying to make the images beautiful too in terms of lighting and composition. I don’t want to be just “xeroxing other people’s outfits” as my mother so eloquently refers to it. Although to be fair, that kind of is what street-style blogging is about.
And most importantly, thank you for reading this tl;dr post!
xo,
Amy
