A lot of the children I photograph are extremely colorfully dressed in some way. But I also find a lot of kids with outsized personalities or who happen to be doing something charming. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
I’ve got 50,000 Facebook fans inside of Iran, and Facebook is banned in Iran. I think the people who follow ‘Humans of New York’ the most after New York City is Tehran. I have a really special affection for the Persian people because they’ve really taken to my work. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
When I first started ‘Humans of New York,’ I was writing short stories. There were about 50 of them. And, you know, they were a great part of the site, but the photography just started growing so fast that I didn’t have time to make them anymore. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
I’m not even really attempting to brand myself outside of ‘Humans of New York.’ I think part of the reason for my success is that I’ve put my ego aside and said I’m not going to put all of my effort into trying to promote myself. I’m going to try to promote my work and am going to try to promote my project. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
I’ve done commercial work for Amtrak. However, that was branded as Stanton. I stipulated at the very beginning that it was not going to involve ‘Humans of New York,’ that I wasn’t going to promote it on ‘Humans of New York.’ So nobody who follows me really even knows that I did it. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
Humans of New York’ is basically somebody walking up to absolute strangers on the street every day and, within minutes, talking with them about very personal things. Some things they haven’t even told their best friends or family members. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
It’s a very immersive and intense form of travel to walk around with an interpreter and stop random people on the street and ask them about their lives. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
I’ve always felt like an artistic person. I can’t draw or paint or sculpt. I never really had technical skills, but I’ve always felt like I appreciate really beautiful things, and part of taking a good photograph is being able to recognize beauty. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
I think everyone feels alone in their sadness, and there’s a certain value to hearing other people’s sad stories. Brandon Stanton Read Quote
