Become a real photographer; shoot porn and tramps with the new Fuji x100
Written by duckrabbitIt’s funny to watch how photojournalism and advertising are merging. Pushed by the likes of World Press and Visa Festival of Shanty Towns, photojournalism is more and more judged as an aesthetic pursuit, bringing it closer and closer to (high end) advertising.
The holy grail of advertising on the other hand is authenticity, which used to be the strength of photojournalism, until the people at World Press started giving out awards to staged stories.
Whores and tramps have always been Magnum favorites, but did their photographers ever make them look so good as in this little bit of advertising trash?
Author — duckrabbit
duckrabbit is a production company formed by radio producer/journalist Benjamin Chesterton and photographer David White. We specialize in digital storytelling.
Discussion (6 Comments)
Wakatta-to omou. Daisuki-dayo!
I wish there was a “dislike” button. Didn’t like the advert at all.
You are quite right to point out that whores and tramps are staples of photojournalism: you can also add petty criminals to the mix. Far too many reputations have been built on shooting this kind of dross, which is easy to do – they are essentially “paid-for” portraits. Magnum should give up the pretence that it is a photojournalism agency now – it has long been a corporate advertising firm (as is VII). The transformation though is understandable – newspapers and magazines want quality pictures and photojournalism: they just do not want to pay for it.
Very funny! But yes, what IS the enduring fascination with photographing whores, porn and tramps? I just read the total market value of pornography in the U.S. alone is estimated at $2-$13 billion per year and I know it’s cool to be a prostitute, a porn star or a lap dancer nowadays. But if people want to do that with their bodies then they should be allowed to, right? Hmmmm…. watch this, a little different from the X100 video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0q_VGacfNk
ie I’m not keen on the glamorous image the x100 video is projecting when it comes to how some of the subjects are being respresented…
Bet it sells cameras. Same way crappy TV shows shot crappily with Canon EOS 5DmkIIs sells cameras. Name of the game.