Brandon Stanton is the photographer of Humans of New York. For some years now this series has been melting our hearts. At first, he just wanted to photograph all the different humans the city had but after a while, he started adding quotes. These quotes were so relatable and intimate that it was impossible not to go viral.
Why did he start Humans of New York?
After he was fired from his job he looked within. Realizing that he had worked with the goal to make money but had nothing to show for those two years. As if he was lost in the cycle of money. He decided to make enough money to do what he wanted. Starting photographing he was particularly fascinated by portraits. After a trip to New York and seeing the diversity of people he decided his project. He would move to New York, photograph 10,000 people and map the photos. It took a year for his project to become known but know you can even buy his books filled with testimonials and intimate portraits.
How he distinguishes the truth behind the words
“I’m very good at knowing when something is sincere and knowing when something is real” – Brandon Stanton
As the blog became known people wanted to be photographed by him, he became scared about the sincerity of the stories. He feared that the popularity would bring lies. The quest is to find a sincere answer and not one already thought by fans. His trick is that he finds out if the answer was planned because that is the first thing they say but then there is a 45-minute interview. This interview is filled with unpredictable questions as well as it is too long to fake.
The core of his search
“Especially in today’s age, when everything’s about telling your own story, everything’s about putting out your own stuff and getting noticed and getting attention—I think the one thing that is in short supply is listening to itself.” ” – Brandon Stanton
How do people tell him such intimate truth?
The fact that he doesn’t know the people just makes them more comfortable to talk. We think that people would be more comfortable to talk about their problems with someone they know yet the unknown bring great comfort. The fact that the stranger doesn’t have friends, family or anything in common feels like a confession. There are no strings attached to our deepest thoughts.
“I think we’re afraid to sit across from each other and ask these very tough, intimate questions because we’re afraid of introducing new information about this person that might upset our ideas of them or might upset our ideas of our own lives. So we don’t ask the questions.” ” – Brandon Stanton
