Have you noticed ? On Shoot That Thursday I never told you about street style photography. It didn't even cross my mind to tell you about a street style shot. Incognito being a fashion blog it is rather strange that I never held the desire to put words on such pictures, and this lead me to reflect on how I consider this genre.
I started Incognito on 2011, at that time the whole blogging world was totally unknown to me. As I was reading more and more fashion blogs, street style ones began to be part of my daily reads. But while I find them of interest in the documenting the different moods, trends and changes happening in fashion outside the catwalks I can't help but feeling bored by them. And that is precisely for this reason that I follow very few of them or I'd rather say that the street style blogs I am following are far enough for me to get the informations I need. And when I say informations (or inspiration it's up to you to choose the word) it really is the case because who those photographers are kidding with ? I can't afford a damn thing I am seeing on their pictures ! Or some want to make us believe so by proposing us to buy similar clothes at a cheaper price, in brief to be a cheaper version of the so called fashion icons created by the phenomenon that is street style photography (side note: I just don't want to be a cheaper version of someone. By the way the idea of writing something about these "get the look" articles in magazines is in a corner of my mind since some time now).
But let's not digress and go to the point. What I am seeking for in street style right now is exactly the "street" and the "style" this photographic genre is missing today. It is missing it so much that I am feeling that fashion is killing the genre it gave birth to (or is it the contrary ? again I let you the choice). I believed so (and still believe it) until I saw these pictures by Lougè Delcy, the blogger behind DapperLou.com :
If it wasn't for Lougè I would have believed that street style photography only encompassed the surroundings of the fashion shows. Seriously aren't those pictures also belonging to street style photography ? Literally aren't they showing people dressed with style by the street ? Because this is what this photographic genre is about.
These pictures are part of a serie Lougè did during the festival Dance Africa 2013. Like the name of this manifestation tells dance and Africa are its main subjects which means that it is about the culture of this continent and if I am not mistaking clothing, fashion is definitely a part of it.
When the first picture appeared in my Bloglovin' newsfeed I was totally enticed by it. I found it moving literally and figuratively. I could picture the dancer movements and imagine how intense this dance was both for her and the audience watching her. I believe I was able to feel this way because not only this photograph has no flaw but Lougè manage to focus on the most important part without making it appear blurry. Wondering about the interesting element ? Well, if you thought it was the dancer it is not ! My opinion is that the protagonist of this photograph is the skirt. The skirt is the element expressing the most the movement in this picture hence the focusing on it, but that's not all. Concentrating on this piece of clothing my eye couldn't help but to associate it with the rest of her attire. So obviously, fahsion, her style finally stroke my attention.
As for the second picture, though we saw the back of these people, what I have in front my eye is a family going out. Mother and son are in focus whereas the father is a little bit out of focus. If he wasn't, his attire would have certainly overshadowed the child and his mother therefore the image of a family that went out to relax would have been lost. But yet, although this picture is not what you can call a fashionable picture, not noticing the pattern of the fabrics used for the shirt of the young woman and the outfit of the little boy is almost impossible because they are in total contrast with the all white and almost princely attire of the father. Again it is not about the garments but still your eye can't help but seeing them.
No, Mr.Blanks street style photography does not only create monsters, sometimes it just shows humans. While a few months ago I agreed (partially) with what he was saying in the video "Take my picture" by Garage Magazine, I can't help but think that we are actually reducing this photographic genre confining its photographer to be a new kind of paparazzi. The video was also only focusing on one moment : the fashion week. Hopefully fashion does not only exist two months a year, hopefully it also shows in the forms you saw in these two pictures.
I know I sound quite contradictory with the beginning of this post but when I see the kind of photographs Lougè shot, I definitely believe that street style photography has a long way to go.
What's your opinion on the matter ? What do you see in those two pictures ?
Hey:
ReplyDeleteI love this article and I agree with you.
Bad street style photo is those photos which show no soul, how do I explain "no soul"?
A photo without a soul is a photo that only captured one's ego on one's appearance and failed to realize that the beauty that surrounded them, a simple human gesture and his or her fashion choices could tell a story much more than a plain photo that the appearance played as the protagonist.
A quick tip, next time when you do photo take a zoom lens and snap the photo without them realizing it.
I love all of your writings and I am always reading it!
FELIK
Hello Felik !
DeleteI am really happy to read a comment by you on the blog and especially on this article.
I can't agree more with your point of view. Due to a concentration on the brands, by that I mean who wear which designer, some photographers certainly forget that street style photography is about the wearer, his/her personality but also about the atmosphere surrounding the person during the moment when the photo was shot.
Oh I wish I could do that but for now I don't own DSLR I have a very basic digital camera and two old school ones (an Agfa Flexilette and a Rolleiflex :D) but I will keep your piece of advice in mind ! Thank you for giving me this tip !
I am more than flattered to learn that you are one of my reader along with Aneta. The same goes for me and your blog. I appreciate your creativity in photo and your thoughts about France and Paris, I always end up with a smile while reading you.
See you !
Well, another amazing article from you. You were not mentioned next to MR on IFB for nothing :)
ReplyDeleteTo whatever you said, I would like to add some of the thoughts that came to my head while reading.
1. I believe it is simply easier to find fashionable people outside a fashion show and hence the tainting of street style photography and its moving away from the original genre. Of course this also points to people who specially dress up flamboyant in the hopes of getting shot by one of the famous SSP, making their job all the way easier. But sometimes I wonder If I wouldn't dress up more than usual since I am attending a fashion week..who knows.
2. I would maybe love to interview or read an interview of a Street Style Photographer explaining the field. Since I believe it will be difficult to find a shot at random even at fashion week and capture it instantly and that too keeping in mind the frame, focus everything. I think this way as I often come across the shot of a single person on various street style blogs. This tells me that your position at that time and everything else must be so instrumental. Add to that capturing the soul... like Felik said above... so much work right?
3. You could visit wearabout.wordpress.com They document Indian street style. Even they shoot around fashion weeks, but maybe since I live here... or maybe it is true... I find a character in their pictures. Since the surroundings are mostly less than perfect I suppose, the way it is in India usually.
Swati @ The Creative Bent
Hi Swati !
DeleteOh thank you so much for your kind words though I wish I could compete with her when it comes to writing skills :).
Answering to each of your point right now !
1.Can't agree more with you on this one. The genre is tainted now but still I would love to believe that when travelling your eyes become more sensitive to what you see, at least this is how I became after seeing a few countries, so finding stylish people off the fashion week season is possible ABOVE ALL when you're a photographer (after all they are supposed to have a way to observe things in a different way). I made a few outfit posts about a potential me going to fashion week and the answer is I would surely dress up like I would do when going to a party or a particular event but I will never overdress for the sake of being shot. I don't see any bad deed to pamper yourself up for FW, after all isn't it an appointment for people loving clothing AND fashion (by that I mean all what it takes to create) ?
2. What an interesting idea you are giving me right now..ahaha. I am sure it would be of interest hearing the words of a photographer regarding this genre. It is A LOT of work be it during or not the FW,the situations are different but the process is hard. Sometimes you can find someone stylish asking him/her to pose for you and then obtain the ugliest picture ever because it is just not the right moment or like some other time you can find someone which appears to ungracious and yet the picture will end a beautiful one. I believe that outside a studio everything is more difficult for a photographer because it is not only about the technical aspect but also the moment, the atmosphere and if the weather is with you or not, this is also the reason why I can understand the very instrumental aspect street style photographic took.
3. I visited the site ! I left you a comment about it on your blog ;) !
Thank you so much for taking time commenting and being so accurate with your thoughts I always end up in deep thoughts thanks to you !
A presto !
In my opinion, the "get the look" thing is not always that bad. I mean, I do it on my blog cause I think it's fun: I actually enjoy plumbing the depths of the web looking for clothes&accessories for people to enjoy. The last one I published is about a character on the (in)famous HBO series Game of Thrones that I love. It was interesting and entertaining for me trying to re-create a look of a fictional character but suitable for a everyday look. I do not agree to "copying" someone else's style when it becomes an "obsessive" behaviour, but sometimes playing with "inspired" looks it's fun as well.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the topic of your post (sorry haha) I totally agree with you about street style photography and your comparison with paparazzi photography. Because it is totally like that. Today street style photography means taking pictures of that famous socialité, or that up and coming blogger, or that fashion editor and it's most of the times nowhere near a shoot taken because of the actual style. I must admit I do enjoy going through these pictures anyway, cause you can sometimes stumble into something interesting, but the fact that they're focused on fashion events and fashion weeks it's annoying indeed. But I guess that's because it's easier to find "eccentric" and "well dressed" people at those events. So I believe that the true talented street style photographer is the one that can find "style" everywhere he/she goes. So, yes I love these pictures you posted!
Ciao Elisa,
DeleteActually when I mentioned the "get the look" thing it was more about the magazines. I went reading your post about it and I was pretty sure that it was way more fun than in any magazines I have read so far because you applied it to reality and because I can clearly perceive that it is something you like and would wear yourself (or am I wrong ? ahaha). In brief your approach is different.
What I don't like about this trend is the constant worshiping of the style icons, as if wearing similar clothes to them would turn you into someone as glamorous as them. I much more prefer when they make style lists according to trends or seasons because it is more realistic. You know, usually in magazines they make you a "get the look" article with a gorgeous picture of the star and then they show you similar clothes. Actually they look WAY LESS beautiful when confronted with the picture of the style icons. Magazines certainly adopted this strategy because in the end we all want to be a little bit glamorous but to people who lack confidence or just don't buy in this stuff (like me) this is nonsense because stars are stars. They have make up artists, hairstylists, stylist and above all the money to make them look gorgeous. In the end what I am criticizing here is this thing that you can buy glamour. This said it is not forbidden to be inspired by these called fashion/style icons :).
So true about the social background of the people photographed : socialite, famous bloggers or fashion editors. Again I would say that we are going back to this story of style icons ;). In reality, they are interesting to shoot not because of their style but because of their status in the fashion industry.
You said the same thing as Swati and I agree with both of you about the easiness of stumbling upon stylish people during FW but just like you said a street style photographer should also be able to find "style" everywhere he/she goes :).
Thanks a lot for your comment !
Ok I got your point now! In that case, yes I still agree with you haha! But at the end of the day, if someone wants to look like an actress or a pop icon and needs suggestions about how to do that, let the "get the look of" articles be! I mean, that's what people want. I think that what I dislike more in magazines are the "do's and don'ts". I always try to judge myself and then check if they labeled the look as a do or as a don't XD
ReplyDeleteTo sum it up, I think it's "safe" to get inspiration here and there, but it's a no-no (even for our self esteem) to imitate a whole look from a random star!
p.s.: Thank you for reading my post, I always enjoy writing that kind of articles! And I'm glad it's clear that I try to do it from my point of view! (as everything on a blog should be I believe!)
I was usually never interested in the whole "get the look" thing either because sometimes, the "look" the magazine wants you to get isn't even attractive or want-able. I do agree with what you have to say about street style photography. It shouldn't be limited to the streets concentrated with "fashion." It should also extend to the streets around the world that have style. You don't have to pay a fortune just to be stylish.
ReplyDeleteHello Angel,
Deletethank you for your comment.
The "Get the look" thing is something I am observing in magazines since quite a time now. It is not about the clothes for me but more about this thing that want us to believe that "advising" us similar clothes to today's fashion icons, we will become as glamourous as them when glamour just like style is all personal. It's no more about inspiration.
That's what I mean, as photographers, their eyes are more sensitive than ours so they should be able to capture fashion even when FW are not happening. But as said my friend Swati in her comment before, it is just that during FW the job of street style photographers is just easier.
Hope to see you around again on the blog !
Shug
I suppose that is why it feels like street style photography has grown to become a huge masquerade - people wearing unfathomable accessories and clothes just for the sake of being photographed and attaining some sort of online fame. Sometimes I wonder if photographers also know deep down that for them to attain fame, it's through photographing these personalities at fashion weeks? Perhaps. We can never know their intentions.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, it's ridiculous and I agree. No one or well hardly anyone is capturing real style anymore and by that I mean what normal people would be wearing every day (not some over the top style i.e. fur jackets in the tropics, believe me when I say it's hot as hell in Singapore and there would be the few 'fashionistas' draped in fur jackets, coats and the like out basking in the sun - insane).
Nonetheless, there are some real down to earth street style sites and definitely agree with swati above that wearabout.wordpress.com is one of those sites who essentially captures beautiful style and imagery without the associated glamour.
Will be on the lookout for more of such sites!
Hi Tarandip,
DeleteFirst of all thanks a lot for taking time reading my post.
I agree with you on the fact that some are dressing outrageously only for the sake of being photographed. As for the photographers, I do think that there is thing about who will get the best/first picture of this famous editor or that famous model or that famous blogger. Doing so I am sure they are missing plenty of interesting people attending FW and in a way doing so they just turn out to be very similar to paparazzi. Yes I know I am a fickle person :D. Earlier in my post I just said that we confine them to be a kind of paparazzi but I believe that some of them behave in such a way unfortunately in order to get more views, attain fame or just be published in a magazine ?
I still think that people like The Sartorialist still capture everyday people though, especially lately, seeing his blog is changing a little bit direction with less fashionable pictures but more natural and stylish pictures, by that I mean that instead of concentrating exclusively on the clothes he pays attention to create an atmosphere. You can see it because the way he uses light has slightly changed lately and he is more into capturing moments or portraits.
Funny you'd say that about Singapore, now you are making me curious. So far in Asia I've only been to Japan and South Korea but I am curious to see how street style photography is in other asian coutries. Going through Chictopia I sometimes find very exaggerated looks by filippino boys (but obviously this is my personal taste) always wearing heels and women clothes. Actually I am not against men wearing women clothes but I am just wondering if this thing didn't begin with street style photography because some of them do push it to the extreme.
I went visiting wearabout.wordpress.com and as a French only knowing about american or european street style photographers I was impressed by the approach of the blog and the way indians dressed. It has been (and still is) an eye opener for me.
It was a real pleasure reading your comment, thanks a lot again !