What happens when the guy behind the most religiously followed blog online comes to your city? You guessed it. Fan craze. A tsunami of people surrounding him to know about his life; waves of questions, conversations laughter, shrieks and of course, bold statements of adoration hitting from all directions!
When Brandon Stanton announced his presence at Connaught Place, New Delhi on the Humans of New York page, the TYS team loyally appeared at the venue to get a full scoop on one of its biggest inspirations.
Never approach people from behind. They are bound to get scared and give a blunt ‘No.’ When I see someone interesting on the street walking ahead of me, I rush up to the front and walk towards them to greet them face to face.
Yeah, I’ve got a feminine voice, but it helps.The softer you are, the more happily people agree to be photographed. When I first started out, I got a lot of rejections. And surprisingly, I received more ‘Nos’ in New York than in any other place. So now I often pull out my phone and show people my blog before taking the shots.
First I photograph them. Take a full body shots, and then get closer – trying out different compositions. Then, I start talking to them. Each snippet of conversation shown on the blog is often not something that follows immediately. I ask a lot of questions and then eventually put up the best part of their story in the caption.
People open up to strangers more easily. It’s tough spilling your emotions out to someone who has known you for a long time. Guess that’s where I seem to be at an advantage!
