This post has been a long time in the making, not least because I am unsure of the answer. It was written through the lens of a crap amateur art photographer; so be warned. There have been many murdered attempts at this post through the years. Since Covid stopped my photography and then bloody Ai imagery seemed to out ‘me’ my own images, I’ve started giving some serious thought about how to continue photographing models.
To interrupt with a nostalgia trip, in 2013, at a rustic wooden lodge in Colorado, a quietly spoken and timid Jenifer Hudson (Now Thorsten) standing in front of her class, and thus me, confidently said “The pretty image is dead” It took an instant to register, I knew exactly what she meant and for years, that killed my photography. So here be demons, a warning for some to stop reading now.
The spirit of this piece is not to declare that Photoshoots are now dead, nobody can participate. I want this post to hint at clues that could help to navigate through these deadlands and create the images we can be proud of. For all, the fact that the photoshoot is dead is an irrelevance to creating the work you want, it just changes the understanding of what we are doing. Most of my images are guilty of everything bad I describe as this revelation of what’s gone wrong is new to me.
The genre isn’t dead because the quality of photography has become so dire it’s become embarrassing, it’s the opposite. Platforms such as Model Mayhem, Purpleport, Instagram or Kavyar have so much outstanding work that quality is no longer such a valuable commodity, it's now expected. The author Susan Sontag warned of the anaesthetising quality of images. We are bombarded by Photographs. Children of the Western world have never been so photo-literate and therefore, we’ve never cared so little about the individual image. Social media has made digital images explode around our fields of vision.
The accelerant to the demise has been the most toxic of inventions, the “Like” button and its similar social engineering crimes found online. For many, this online currency is the motivation and sole feedback of how good a photograph is. With technically accomplished and competent photographs expected, the photographer’s focus shifts to create more attention-grabbing imagery. That is the perfect ingredient for this sinister button. With images displayed in flows of hundreds, there are few qualities more useful than the ability of a photograph to grab the viewer’s attention.
This quality is far from dangerous, but with the vast number of photographs over the years being funnelled through this dopamine-inducing process; photography has changed. It’s taken a long time to notice it and it is hard to quantify into words; that this post will always simply be an argument to explore. The crux is; does the imperative to create attention-grabbing images matter? Has it somehow led to the death of the photoshoot? On the face of it, we would expect photography to be better, attention-grabbing is a desirable quality.
Taste is a loaded word when talking about photography, what one person thinks is better than another. Taste is subjective, except I don’t believe that is absolute. Taste can be the subliminal an image transmits to its viewer. Old art books always caution “Avoid the Sentimental!” and almost all art books warn “Avoid Cliché at all costs!” What I believe we now have, or perhaps we always had, but it was less mentioned, is an aesthetic of “look at me!” images. When an image’s sole purpose for existing is to grab attention, it has no other redeeming qualities. This can take the form of unconsidered props or clothing that add nothing to an image other than make it appear somehow more ‘creative’. Poses that only seem plausible in the bubble of internet modelling websites that most people outside would consider plain weird rather than edgy. Other photographers seem to create endless random and unconnected themes that give nothing of meaning. If the only reason an image exists, its sole message is “Click my heart button” then we feel tricked.
Compounding this is the social conditioning that affects photographers and many of the members viewing images on the websites. Online platforms are bombarded with such imagery, it quickly starts to become normalized into the prevailing aesthetic. With the democratization of art criticism new social media platforms provide, reducing it to a currency of likes and follows, it’s no wonder attention-seeking images prevail.
To be mean and to Amp up my argument; After years of photoshoot images going through the competitive furnace of social media; it’s fucked, it’s been flogged to an inch of its life and beyond, and then back again, it’s about finished. Thousands and amateurs, semi-pros and professionals are all competing for online social currency against each other. We’ve reached a point of stunning imagery that just fails to grab the curly whirly’s. It’s just become desperately “try too hard” a caricature of itself.
At this point, I expect to lose some readers who disagree. For many the joy of creating popular images, or just any images, is the sole enjoyment, they are the lucky ones. For many and often not consciously, we are driven by immortality. We are surrounded by people’s immortality projects, their buildings, their designs, their books, their art! It is a human nature. Once we understand our images may be vacant of substance once the veneer of tricks to grab the attention are removed, what do we have left? this fear can become crippling.
All is not lost however, in the millions of images uploaded many do not even fit the mould of the images discussed. Glamour images for example bypass many of the issues for their honesty in showing simple raw sex appeal. Whilst the prevailing Aesthetic has been abused to the point of killing the Photoshoot genre, a good image is still a good Image. You just must be aware you're in the deadlands and understand why. Only you can inform what substance your images need to survive the passing of time. If I was to suggest anything I would muddy your unique take on art. What I can warn though, it took me years to discover any substance I could add.
For my own photography, I’ve accepted that Art is just Art, art doesn’t necessarily have to be any good never mind attention-grabbing. I’ve learnt to let go of the ‘Like’ button. What I am doing going forward is trying to explore various concepts in my images whether they work or not. I am also just letting models be themselves, standing in front of the lens, in good light. If I add anything extra, I add if for a reason. I then take their photograph.
