Brandon Stanton

“Fortunately, I've done so many interviews that I've become very good at detecting when someone is giving a less-than-candid reply.”

“At some point during my travels, I had a slight change of focus which would end up defining the rest of my career. I began taking pictures of people. In addition to all the buildings, street signs and fire hydrants, I started photographing some of the interesting humans that passed by me on the street.”

“I struck upon this kind of crazy idea that I was going to go to New York and stop 10,000 people on the streets and take their portrait and create kind of a photographic census of the city.”

“I am a huge fan of biographies. What I'm always looking for is a story. I want a story I have never heard from anyone else.”

“'Humans of New York' did not result from a flash on inspiration. It grew from five years of experimenting, tinkering, and messing up.”

“Social media is a superimposing place where people are usually bragging.”

“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.”

“I don't like to interview people in front of their friends; they clam up.”

“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.”

“Without social media, I'd probably just be a quirky, amateur photographer with a hard drive full of photos. I'd be cold calling respected publications, begging for a feature.”

“I don't think there's any better education than learning the intimate details of the lives of people who you most admire.”

“I am interviewing people with a spirit of genuine interest and compassion, and therefore, the general tone of the site is one of genuine interest and compassion. The moment that culture changes, 'Humans of New York' is no longer viable.”

“The most pivotal moments in people's lives revolve around emotions. Emotions make stories powerful.”

“It's the rejection that is hard. It's not the interviewing that's hard. It's not the photography that's hard. It's, you know, approaching people all day long and having a good portion of those people reject you and some of them be rude.”

“Of all the places I've been, India is the one that's on the top of my list to return to.”

“There are so many people that use 'following your dreams' as an excuse to not work. When in reality, following your dreams, successfully, is nothing but work.”

“When I meet somebody in the street who knows about 'Humans of New York,' a lot of times they might have a scripted answer, and that scripted answer is the first thing to come out of their mouth.”

“I was making projections about 'Humans of New York,' back when I had zero followers, that made all my friends and family roll their eyes. I'd throw out these huge numbers: 'One day, a million people are gonna be looking at this. Trust me.' And even those wild, wild numbers I was throwing out have just been smashed. So, it's a good feeling.”

“I didn't actually begin photographing, or even visit New York, for the first time until I was 26.”

“I think it's important to try to get on a kid's level when taking their photo.”