By: Dawn Elardo
One of the newest trends on the online block is the rise of fashion-portrait-photo-blogs. With Bill Cunningham's On the Street leading way, (from his post at the NY Times--see upcoming documentary HERE) to Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist (featured on Blogger)--who accidental became famous for taking pictures on the streets of New York, (and who's now popping up on magazines and even on your mini-cab-TV, being interviewed for his serendipitous success)--these days, for some reason or another, people are extremely fascinated by photo loggers, who take snapshots of interesting fashionistas galloping the streets.
One of the newest trends on the online block is the rise of fashion-portrait-photo-blogs. With Bill Cunningham's On the Street leading way, (from his post at the NY Times--see upcoming documentary HERE) to Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist (featured on Blogger)--who accidental became famous for taking pictures on the streets of New York, (and who's now popping up on magazines and even on your mini-cab-TV, being interviewed for his serendipitous success)--these days, for some reason or another, people are extremely fascinated by photo loggers, who take snapshots of interesting fashionistas galloping the streets.
Perhaps it's simply part of the daunting signs that some of us have become lazy, indulgent and complacent--after all, most of us are creatures of superficial tendencies and some of us may even consider reading as an arduous task (you know who you are!). Why challenge the intellect and open one's mind, when one could just happily look at pictures, get highly amused via visual stimulation sans any questions in one's head. Hey sometimes, after a very trying day, that's all one has mental room for--so let's not judge.
Be that as it may, certain influencers in the fashion industry would rather disagree: Most designers are always critically hunting for inspiration, searching for the right catalyst to be the talk of couture town--seeking to build story boards powerful enough to create a collection that will hopefully generate millions.
And what a better and more fascinating place to look than on the streets; after all, they're free--hence, a multitude of blogs are dedicated to them. Plus, and this is the ultimate plus for a photo-street-blogger: if you're in the right place at the right time, you just might find the radical dresser who's not afraid to stand out--the type of fashionista who's fully registered to compete in who gets to define the next fashion trend, (at least for the moment).
And if this is the case, then hey, that's not a bad job at all: influencing the minds of some of the greatest fashion artists of all time, while taking a leading role in the cycle of style creation. Think about it: People on the streets inspire street photographers--who then inspire the fashion authorities--who inevitably design for those who end up wearing said designs on the streets to begin with.
The drawbacks? Well, we imagine that having to take pictures of random strangers on the street might incur a high probability of awkward moments. More importantly, what do you do when the weather doesn't cooperate? And lastly, not only does one already have to be somewhat of a recognized trendsetter/decent photographer, but one would then have a to build a large enough audience, before you can really make a profitable site.
However, on the up side, trend-hunter Yvan Rodic describes his street-photo-journaling as, "What I love about taking pictures and talking to people on the streets is that you never know where your day will take you." Rodic is the face behind Facehunter (also on Blogger), one of the few popular style sites to recon with. 34-year old Swiss born Yvan Rodic has also been asked to photograph for the likes of French Elle and H&M. That all fashionably said, have a watch at a day in life of Yvan Rodic (via Nowness). And guess what: If your photo blog makes it big one day, you might just get to publish a book too! (See below)
However, on the up side, trend-hunter Yvan Rodic describes his street-photo-journaling as, "What I love about taking pictures and talking to people on the streets is that you never know where your day will take you." Rodic is the face behind Facehunter (also on Blogger), one of the few popular style sites to recon with. 34-year old Swiss born Yvan Rodic has also been asked to photograph for the likes of French Elle and H&M. That all fashionably said, have a watch at a day in life of Yvan Rodic (via Nowness). And guess what: If your photo blog makes it big one day, you might just get to publish a book too! (See below)
FACEHUNTER: Yvan Rodic hits the streets of Manhattan
Browse Street Fashion Books
