The story continues......

So I have now moved the blog to tumblr. No offence to Blogger but it just doesn't give you enough exposure. So check the new blog HERE!

www.visualsforthought.com

Thoughts Behind The Visuals - Edd Li

I met up with Edd Li, founder of Victate, a successful clothing brand that is in its second year, with so much potential for the future. The brand shows exceptional quality and Edd being only a year older than me and also studying Dentistry at Kings College London really does amaze and inspire me. I realised that to build a brand with such care and attention to detail, you must do a shit load of learning and so I wanted to get an insight into he has come such a long way in such a short space of time. I also shot a mini video with him which I look to release in the near future.

Check out Victate. Click Here.

I am sure you would say that your brand represents style but what does style mean to you?

Style is what you feel when you see someone else whether it be clothing or personality. The way people portray themselves is important. Someone wearing all black can look better than someone with a lot of colour.

What do you think makes a striking photo or video and what do you think sets people's photos and video's apart from all that is out there on the internet?

The emotions which a photo or video make you feel are so important. Just a simple landscape photo of a rural environment can be very moving so it is the feelings that the photographer aims to draw from the audience that is one of the most important elements.

I try to sit down and learn from as many people as possible but if there was one person on earth you could sit down with and talk to, who would it be?

Hiroki Nakamura. He is the Visvim designer and I really look up to his work ethic and passion in each and every product release. He calls each release a dicitation and this shows how seriously he takes his work. He also seems so down to earth and remains behind the scenes, keeping a personal life rather than being all over the media, so I could actually find out about his life, in comparison to people like Kanye West.  

Thoughts Behind The Visuals - Aaron Christian

A few days ago I sat down with Aaron Christian editor and founder of www.individualism.co.uk and he is currently working for Mr Porter as their photographer / videographer. As with his brother Reuben, I learned so much and they gave me a good insight into the creative industries.

What does style mean to you and can you have bad style?
Style is self confidence of your inner self through clothing. Yes and no. you can bend the common rules of style depending on your body shape and personal character and what works well for your character. Something can be atypically stylish but if it doesn't relate to your character people will see through it.

What are important elements in making a professional appealing video?
Story! Story is one of the most important things. Visuals are important but it is nothing without a good storyline. Youtube videos are good examples of that. Videos get 5 million views because people relate to the story. There is not enough comedy and storytelling in fashion! It should be taken seriously but to relate to men you have to add a little humor. To laugh at ones self shows confidence.

Who would you most like to sit down with and interview?
Tony Robins. Reading his books and teachings as an American, as tacky and corny as it sounds, he is genuine. I take to people who don't have an ego and want to better themselves.
David Beckham. He's from the ends. He's genuine with no ego, and doesn't let failure stop him. He keeps getting back up. I am straight but he is one stylish dude, even in boxers for H&M! He's a sick role model, I think I'd get along with him.
Sir Ken Robinson. He speaks so much truth. I admire people who are confident and know who they are! 

'To wear colour is an act of courage' Kean Etro

The days when the winter months were in November, December and January are now over. It is February and the snow is falling! What really interests me during the cold winter season is colour, especially when it comes to clothing and fashion. I personally find that many people dress in dark colours and I wonder why that is. I believe that colour in clothing really can put a smile on your face and affect your mood, so does colour depend on your mood? Your personality? Or are the influences of fashion superbrands that affect our colour choices when it comes to winter clothing.

This gentleman from Kent says that brown is his favourite
colour. 

These guys from Taiwan find black, brown and green to be good winter colours.

I spoke to this guy who says that black is his favourite colour, as it matches
 most things and can be worn all year round and that maybe subliminally,
 people wear darker colours because the weather dampens their mood.

Stuart says he has no preference when it comes to winter colours.
His favourite colours being ox red, maroon and yellow.

These guys believe that because shops sell darker
colours, people tend to wear darker colours and
green and brown are good winter colours

These two agreed that maybe you dress depending
on your mood and that darker colours are more cosy
and attract the warmth better!

However Mustafa here sporting a bold red jacket likes cherry red and
maroon and says what you wear reflects your personality.

So what do you guys think about colour and how the weather and your mood affected you style and clothing. Let me know :)

Jordan

Jordan's have become very popular in the last couple of years, and some would say slightly played out, but I believe the Jordan brand has had a huge influence on fashion considering it was originally a basketball shoe. I bought my first pair in 2009 and have loved every pair I have had, though I think the only pair of Jordan's I will buy in the future are the Jordan 4's, my favourite pair, set to release in summer 2012. When it comes to photos of the shoes, they seem to be everywhere! However, the photos seem to mostly have a american feel, I am from London believe that they are one of the most successful pairs of American trainer to sell over here and I believe there needs to be more shots of these to represent the British love for Jordans, I hope I have done this with this shoot.

Jay Sentrosi and Aphrodite Hernandez

Thoughts Behind The Visuals...Reuben Christian

Reuben Christian, founder of the successful mens styling website and blog 'www.individualism.co.uk', is an entrepreneur/comedian/presenter who has achieved so much over the last few years with the website as well as comedy and presenting. I started to follow the website in the first few months and watching the website grow inspired my own blogging and photography. I was intrigued to find out how he has developed the website and where it has taken him. I sat down with Reuben to find out his opinions on blogging in general and how I can develop myself in photography and blogging. He gave me a lot to think about as well as being funny as hell! Take some time out and read the interview as there are good points for everyone to take.

You quote yourselves as a ‘one-stop’ men’s style and image resource, but what is your definition of style?

My definition of style is a visual representation of how someone likes to be portrayed, I also think it is a representation of where someone’s mind is at creatively.

So do you think people can have the wrong perception of what style is?

I think style is relative, style is unique to every human being, there is no wrong or right, how someone wants to be portrayed in life is how they put themselves together.

What inspired you to start the blog?

I have always, as cheesy as this sounds, thought of myself as an individual. We are all individuals but I took it to such an extent that if my friends were dressing in a certain way, Reuben had to go the other way, I had to make an effort never to be a sheep, I was so pro being an individual, at times people would say ‘I don’t know where your going with this stuff Reuben’ but I liked the idea that I was creating my own path, I even made my email address ‘reubentheindividual’. I then thought, ‘what do I want to do with my life?’ I looked at my dad, who was an accountant, come home with a long face and I thought, ‘I do not want to come home with a long face!’ I looked at my mum who has a good job but was working ridiculously long hours and I think ‘is she happy with her life?’ If your job takes up the majority of your life, make sure what your doing, work-wise, is what you enjoy doing. I started off styling, didn’t like doing that, pinning up dresses on women, seeing naked women was great [haha] but I got bored quickly so I moved to image consultancy for men because I knew men’s fashion. We promoted the word individualism and I tried to get clients but I found it hard to get men to pay us, as other men, to show them how to dress. My brother jumped on board when we first started the website, he then became this mad style fanatic, and I wanted to go into comedy as presenting, so Aaron took over the fashion side of thing and I handled the comedy and presenting side of things.

For the rest of the interview click Read More

Thoughts Behind The Visuals - Jonathan Keys

What inspires your style?

I am inspired by what and who I see around me, whether it is music film or friends.

What do you think makes a striking photo?

A classic setting, industrial buildings or old town houses and most importantly strong emotion captured in the photo.

Where did you get your jumper from?

The shirt is my dad's. Proper Vintage. Raid your families wardrobes!

What do you think makes you stand out from others?

Being able to work with what I can find and afford and make it suit my style.