Over the 14 years I’ve run the Phoblographer, we’ve interviewed several photographers. Most American photographers lack something that seems commonplace amongst Eastern European photographers. Those photographers blend mystery, magic, and Renaissance-style beauty into their images. Indeed, there are American photographers who do this, too — and they especially have different retouching standards. One of my favorites is Mark Seliger — who is often seen alongside Annie Leibovitz as one of the greats in this department. But most American photographers don’t seem to bring a sense of magic to their images. There’s a reason for that.
The Magic of Mark Seliger
If you look at Mark’s images, they seem very unlike what so many other photographs look like. The poses aren’t the same. The energy felt in the images comes from the heroes of his photographs. And more importantly, the images don’t look like they’re inspired by cinema or anything else like that.
Many American photographers take inspiration from cinema. And that’s fine for what it is. But so many things these days look alike because they’re all drawing inspiration from the same source. The blade runner look is well-defined in a specific way. But imagine if Blade Runner were a book first. If that were the case, photographers would need to use their imagination.
That’s the problem: photographers are too inspired or draw creativity from visual mediums instead of text-based mediums. They’re not using their imagination in the way that cinematographers have to reinterpret books into movies.
This is part of what makes Mark Seliger’s photos so magical: you can tell he’s taking a lot of inspiration from not a lot of other visual media. He finds beauty in everyday life, the energy of the person in front of him, and his own interpretations of things. In interviews, he has also talked about some of the great photographers who came before him. Plus, he often talks about how he’s worked with other artists.
When Mark was still cutting his teeth, this was fine. There weren’t that many photographers and the world was a different place. Today, the barrier of entry is much lower. Anyone can be a passionate photographer these days. And since that’s happened, there has been a proliferation of visual media. This, in turn, makes us all copy and draw inspiration from one another even if it’s unintentional.
That’s the problem.
How to Make Your Photographs Magical: Read
I sincerely think that this problem can be fixed with one big thing: reading. Reading gets photographers creatively recharged because they’re not being bombarded with a million notifications and stimuli. It allows you to focus your attention on something. Lots of practices and mental health experts will tell you to stop what you’re doing and focus on your breathing. It’s the same thing they tell you in every single yoga class at the start or during some part of it. But as you try to do that, other stimuli come up. In today’s world, it’s not enough.
Quiet your brain. Make it actively consume text-based media and make it work to create worlds instead of passively just sitting back and taking something in. The mental silence you give yourself is a gift that will continue to help you create. Photographers often don’t want to be inspired from other photographers at all — they want to be original. But the only way to really be original is to use your imagination and then bring it life in your images. It’s even better if
For more inspiration, I like to also turn to photo books like those by Mark Seliger. And you should too!