Scott Schuman
International street style photographer. Creator of The Sartorialist blog
I choose my subjects by reacting to what I see. I know pretty quickly if it is something I want to shoot. I have no prerequisites but some people have a natural charisma.
My favourite pictures are ones I have taken of my kids. The pictures I love the most are the ones that I’d grab if my house were burning down. As much as I love all the other people I have photographed, nothing beats a really great moment with my own children to really mean something emotionally.
The person I’d like to photograph most in the world is that next unknown person I haven’t met yet, who surprises me and who will create a dialogue. During the recent Chic Outlet Shopping® Chic Tour of Europe, I took a picture of a beautiful young woman in Brussels. She was wearing traditional Muslim clothing but with an updated twist. There is nothing about what she was wearing that was necessarily fashionable, yet the idea of being able to show this woman in a different way and create the discussion that happened on my blog is the most rewarding. Rarely do I talk about straight-up fashion.
My style template used to be an old school Italian style. I would always shop in Milan and Florence but Italians culturally have a higher tolerance for heat – they’ll wear heavy cotton pants in the middle of summer. My style is now a mix of true American design with some old school Italian, and reflects who I am and what my lifestyle is about. I love a well-made, bespoke, ‘purple-label’, Ralph Lauren suit with slim lapels, worn with a high, cut-away collar, Italian shirt.
I spend a lot of time in Europe and like the way the cities are close together and not spread out like they are in the US. European cities are unique. I know when I am in Milan. The people are dressed a certain way, the buildings look a certain way, as does the food, none of which you would confuse with Paris. There is not one specific city I like the most, but the ones I enjoy the most are the ones that really have a certain uniqueness about them.
True luxury is something that is not needed but that you really want to have. I like a really beautiful umbrella, the expensive handcrafted ones you can’t take on an aeroplane. To have one of these is a real luxury. I bought mine in London to use in New York and I can only use it when there are light showers. It isn’t really needed but very nice to have.
The three items I never leave home without are my camera, reading glasses and phone. Someday my big professional camera will have a phone in it. I’d invent one, but I’m too busy.
My advice to aspiring photographers is photograph what you know, shoot what you’re passionate about. Don’t grasp at straws trying to find clever concepts. Bruce Weber is one of my favourite photographers. He always said shoot in your own back yard, shoot the life that you really have. I followed that when I started doing photography. I didn’t pick up a camera until I had kids and started taking pictures of them playing. That’s what I was passionate about.
02-03-2011