Poor Man's Blues

In poor taste?

Today, our favorite street-style photographer, Scott Schuman (a.k.a The Sartorialist) took the above photo of a homeless gentleman who Schuman described as "someone who, while down on his luck, hasn't lost his need to communicate and express himself through style." I just can't decide how I feel about the picture. On the one hand, I don't see anything wrong with Scott shooting this guy who seems to be trying to make the best out of his situation by demonstrating a unique sense of style and, in effect, maintaining a sense of self. Too, inspiration comes from a wide variety of sources, this situation being no exception. However, on the other hand I see it as being exploitative on Schuman's part by using this poor man's misfortune to benefit himself (whether it be through increased blog hits, to garner more attention and publicity, who knows). While I truly doubt (or at least hope) that isn't the case, I still think the photo was tasteless. Sorry, Scott.