Two years ago, when I went to my first fashion week in London, I ran into a nice man with a German accent and an idea of becoming “one of the big ones, you know. Like Scott or Tommy.”. That German dude was Daniel from TheUrbanspotter, who had recently started his blog and begun shooting street style.
I, with my Danish humility, smiled at the fact that he was so new, unexperienced and already had decided that he’d make it big. He talked to everyone, shot everything and told people about his big ambitions.
Now, two years later, he’s in the game with a huge network, lots of experience, a nice camera and jobs for clients like TeenVogue UK, Vogue Nederlands and HighSnobiety and over 40.000 followers on Instagram.
The type with the German accent, who I might have under estimated then, has worked harder than ever, which has helped him tons and put him on the map of street style photogs to watch.. And then he’s just so damn nice, talkative and down to earth, that he’s one of my favorite people to talk to during the fashion weeks.
The Danish fashion week is about to start and since the street style scene in Copenhagen has bloomed tremendously these past seasons, I got a hold of Daniel and asks shim a bunch of questions that might help you guys, who’d like to get into street style photography or maybe be photographed by Daniel.
All photos are borrowed from Daniel’s street style-blog TheUrbanspotter
When and why did you start shooting street style?
In 2009 I stumbled upon the blog, The Sartorialist, and I loved it. Once I moved from Scotland to London I started to do my own blog, which was the birth of theurbanspotter.com.
What’s the most fun about it?
What I like most about shooting street style is the fact that you meet so many interesting people from all over the world.
What’s the least fun about it?
Especially during fashion weeks you encounter situations where you sometimes really wonder about what you are doing: There are too many photographers and spectators around that make your task creating beautiful street style images very difficult. At the same time it can be very rewarding if you get it right under those conditions. So in a way it is a love-hate relationship for me.
Which memorable experiences have you had while working as a street style photographer?
After having experienced three complete fashion seasons there were numerous very rewarding situations as for example doing selfies with Hanneli Mustaparta, having interesting conversations with Anna Dello Russo or just sitting in a plane next to a bunch of models.
Where has street style photography taken you so far?
This September I will finally also shoot during New York fw. Geographically seen this is the furthest street style has taken me. However, I have plans for the future to travel to Sydney and Seoul fw and many other places within Europe where I so far have not been shooting street style yet.
Carreer wise, during this past half year, people have noticed that I am serious about what I am doing and have given me more recognition than before. I am just beginning to see that street style photography can be a door opener for many different spin-off projects and collaborations within the fashion photography field. Recently I had offers to shoot lookbooks and smaller editorials.
Where would you like street style photography to take you?
Ultimately, I would love to become a fashion photographer.
What’s the recipe for success in the world of street style photography?
I am not sure I have a recipe for success. I am very passionate about what I am doing, and I think that without passion I would not be there where I am today. You need a lot of perseverance, sneakiness, good social skills and some talent in order to leave your mark on the streetstyle industry.
What do you look for when shooting?
When I take pictures on the street, I have certain criteria in my head that act as a guideline for shooting streetstyle. Ultimately these criteria determine if I can create an aesthetically pleasing picture or not. It’s also beneficial when people are confident and feel happy in their body and clothes.
What should someone wear to make you want to shoot a photo of them?
It is not necessarily the clothes you wear but more how you wear it. Thus, you do not need to wear designer clothes in order to get my attention. If you pull off a great outfit wearing only second-hand clothes then that is amazing.
