RANT: Urban Outfitters Should Be Ashamed...

Okay, before I begin... take a look at this photo essay entitled "America" by Clara Balzary, please. (If you don't, there's a chance you might not understand the rest of this post.)

Did you look at all of it?

Okay...

Now...

What the hell is the problem with this picture? It's Urban Outfitters- one of my favorite stores, despite the extremely ridiculous prices for things I could make myself... But did you see the photographs?!

This is what really pisses me off. The quality of those photographs is absolutely hideous. Now, I understand, maybe the style of photography she was- maybe- trying to go for. It's called Hipster Photography, in some circles (It's that sort of "I don't give a shit, it's art, it's photography" sort of style)... but this seriously looks like my four-year-old niece picked up a camera and took these photos. Actually, I take that back. My four-year-old niece would have taken better photos than these. And did she not have time to do post-edit work on them? Hell, I go out on the town with my friends, and I still find time to post-edit the photos I take before posting them to something as simple as Facebook.

This is why it is upsetting to me: I don't claim to be the best photographer in the world, but I will be so bold as to claim that I am good at what I do. I could have shot those 10x better, and made them more pleasing to the eye. But alas... either they were short-handed in the photographer department, Balzary was somehow related to the Director of the Urban Outfitters website, thus getting "special treatment", or she just plain doesn't care about the "American Spirit". Last I checked... America was about being "all that you can be"... but seriously... come on now... That may have been all that Balzary could be, but I know that isn't all Urban Outfitters can be...

The models aren't even trying to pose (and once again, I can understand the "style" Balzary -might- have been going for...) but it looks like these models were forcefully trying to look bad. Over half of the photos are under-exposed, and most are covered in so many shadows, you can't even tell what they're trying to sell because the viewer is severely distracted by them.

If Balzary is, in fact, trying to go for the Hipster style (which I'm fairly positive she is), she needs to do a little more research on the technique of said style. Look at photographers like Jonny Bird, Terry Richardson, or Bella Howard.

In short, they need to hire me for their next photo assignment... because viewing those photos has made me vomit a little in my mouth. I'm completely disgusted with the quality of work released under the Urban Outfitter's name...

Bella Howard

Jonny Bird

Terry Richardson

Clara Balzary

...

In the words of the Great Will Ferrell... "Am I the only one who sees this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

d.