I’ve been fortunate to make a pretty nice living as a full-time photographer. And while a large part of my success has dealt with the instinctual way that I capture an image, I’m keenly aware that I would be lost without a very real understanding of the technical side of photography.
So in those moments when I walk on set, and either the celebrity, the model, or their publicist asks me to create an image that resembles a recent selfie (self-portrait) that they just posted on Instagram, I always have the same creepy feeling wash over me.
Here’s why … what they’re asking me to do is create art that frankly isn’t art.
Yeah, I said it … bathroom selfies aren’t art.
In my opinion, the true art of photography is found in the giving of a voyeuristic view of the world and its subjects. So as we detach ourselves as photographers, and delve into the psyche of the subject, true artistic moments are created.
What the selfie does is take away the voyeouristic part of the photography and screams “LOOK AT ME” in a way that can at times be borderline obnoxious and narcissistic.
I mean, let’s be real; is anyone really advancing the arts by constantly taking pics of themselves only to slap a vintage filter over it?
You can take some time to ponder that question.
And while you’re doing that, let’s take a look of some of the celebrity selfies that have caused the internet to explode, and then compare them to moments where true art is created.
