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W Magazine Did This Hilarious Celebrity Photoshoot And Now People Are Roasting Them
Twitter users have been concocting a storm online after they saw Juergen Teller’s photos of celebrities in W Magazine, roasting the photographer and saying that enough is enough. In their opinion, the globally acclaimed photographer crafted amateurish shots that have no place being in the spotlight. However... there's a possibility that some of them might have missed the entire point of Teller's work.
Photos so bad they’re good? No! Photos intentionally so bad they’re great/still bad, depending on your point of view. When you see legendary photographer Teller’s pictures, you’ll probably have one of three reactions. You might point out that they’re low-effort, flawed, ridiculous, and you could’ve easily done the same. You might look beyond the photos and see the joke for what it is: this is German fine art and fashion photographer Teller’s signature self-aware style that has earned him fame around the world. Or you might recognize that Teller is a pro and find his work still to be amateurish at best, lazy at worst.
Bored Panda reached out to professional photographer Dominic Sberna to get his take on Teller's work. He told Bored Panda that there's "controlled chaos in each image" and that Teller strips down celebrities "to the point of normalcy." Dominic said: "I can see the appeal for someone who is used to having a photo shoot being a large-scale production, finding comfort and ease in a casual and/or rushed style shoot." Read on for our full interview with him.
Have a look through some of Teller’s celeb shots below and be sure to let us know what you think of them, dear Pandas. Personally, I think they’re great because they're raw and uncomfortable in a powerful way. But don’t let that influence your judgment! I could be wrong and I'd love to hear your take on everything!
Twitter users noticed these celeb pics in W Magazine and they just had to share them
Image credits: blxckswnsImage credits: awholeassmoodImage credits: DanaSchwartzzzYou'll find more of photographer Teller's celebrity shots below. See for yourselves and let us know what you think, dear Pandas!
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George Clooney
Yea, modern photography's obsession with...good photography? I ain't buying it. There's a way to shoot each one of these photos in a way that isn't objectively terrible.
Park So-Dam
The fact that Teller's photos lack staging can contribute to the feeling seen in the images, in photographer Dominic's opinion. "Some people are just used to posing and the setting may not affect them. Others it may take completely off-guard and they in-turn let their guard down. I'd say it generally comes down to the subject and what's going on at that moment," the expert said.
Photographer Dominic added that people who are critics of Teller's work may not be comfortable with seeing celebrities in normalized situations. "People, in general, are quick to criticize anything and everything online. We're all guilty of making critiques and/or assumptions before we know any backstory. It's just a general method of operation for so many online. We're all guilty of being quick to judge. If we took a step back and tried to understand each other's motives, we'd be a lot happier, and less judgmental right off the bat."
Tom Holland
James Corden
Naomi Fry, from The New Yorker, rushed to Teller’s defense despite some journalists calling the photographer out. “These weren’t the kind of photos that you’d post on Instagram; they were the kind of pictures that a friend might take of you, upload to their story, and then tag you in. As I clicked through the images, I marveled at Teller’s coherent vision. For the past thirty years, he has taught us that being just a little bit ugly is cool,” Fry writes.
Meanwhile, Highsnobiety suggests that those who don’t get Teller’s photo shoots might have had their brains “rotted” by Instagram. “Teller’s aesthetic has hinged around breaking the fourth-wall between celebrity and non-celebrity by framing his subjects as candid ‘real people.’ They eschew the trappings of a glam squad, photoshop, and meticulously detailed creative direction informing every shot.”
Alan Kim
Steven Yeun
In an interview with Tim Blanks from the Business of Fashion, Teller declared that “these Hollywood people are so careful of their image and looking right, but there’s a wildness when I come into the photographs… And I prevail.”
However, Twitter seems to be extra critical of Teller’s work. Some believe that there’s no place for his images in W Magazine (or anywhere) else. Others understand that it’s his signature style and believe that it isn’t worth featuring because the stars look unflattering in the photos.
Jonathan Majors
Sophia Lillis
Meanwhile, a minority of Twitter users appreciate Teller’s work for what it is: a comment on modern photography’s obsession with perfection, intertwined with capturing the raw emotions of the person in front of the camera. Rushed shots? Snaps of genuine emotion? You decide.
The composition and the posing all have something slightly off about them. They make us feel uncomfortable because we’re used to highly-curated shots, but we can’t vocalize what it is that weird us out.
Riz Ahmed
Gal Gadot
57-year-old Teller has blurred the boundaries between his personal and commissioned work since starting his career in the late 1980s. Some of the main aspects of his photography include raw emotion, grit, and humor.
Eventually, this solidified to become his iconic style which he’s known everywhere for. So it’s no wonder that W Magazine reached out to him to have him take photos of celebrities: he’s well-known in the industry and everyone knows what can be expected of him.
Nicole Beharie
Leslie Odom Jr.
Teller has photographed all kinds of celebrities, from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kurt Cobain to Kate Moss and Kanye West. The German photographer has been a distinguished member of the artistic community whose work has been featured in Style Magazine and elsewhere.
There’s no doubting Teller’s photography pedigree; and whether or not you enjoy his work or find it overly simplistic doesn’t change the fact that he’s sparked deep discussions with his camera.
Tessa Thompson
That is the worst I've ever seen her look, she's stunning and this is dreadful.
Maria Bakalova
There’s a contrast between how well-known the stars are and how simple, rushed, and unconstructed yet colorful the snaps are. This creates a dissonance that immediately draws you in. Ironically, while the photos stand out color-wise, they remain camouflaged among all the other content you’re scrolling through on social media with their ‘mom-like’ composition.
Jared Leto
Rachel Brosnahan
This isn’t the first time that Teller has courted criticism on social media. In 2018, Twitter users complained that his photos looked too much like Mickalene Thomas’. Meanwhile, in 2015, Teller photographed Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in a confusing photo shoot that featured a lot of rubble.
Jacob Elordi
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Talia Ryder
Vanessa Kirby
Take it for what it is: an attempt to strike up a meaningful conversation about the relationship between beauty and ugliness every time the photographer snaps a new picture. But what do you think of Teller’s work, dear Pandas? Are you a fan or are you a critic like Twitter? Do you see Teller’s photos as something deep that spark conversations like I do or something average that has created a cult following with much ado about nothing? Share your thoughts below!
Some Twitter users went all out and mocked the professional photographer's work
Image credits: supercutbylordeImage credits: gretagerwigflewImage credits: TheFlemishSethImage credits: emmadmazhariImage credits: blxckswnsImage credits: PetersonMellyImage credits: AndytheCorsairImage credits: Fibby1123Image credits: AsianMacaronImage credits: jaehyunwrldImage credits: warmmustardImage credits: travisshypellPhotos should tell a story. These photos don't. These photos are not about content, composition or model, but only about the photographer.
I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but you’re exactly right. He thinks it’s about him.
Load More Replies...This is like when you go into build mode on sims and your character moves randomly
So this dude just takes photos in front of this one tree and his Prius and we are calling that art? Shame
Am I the only one who doesn't mind these? I really like the James Corden photo.
I didn’t get it but now I kind of do after seeing them all together. It’s a neighborhood photo shoot. The point is that they are kinda in this home base area and they are the ones standing out as celebs in this comfy neighborhood where you walk by the same shop, same tree, same street parking etc. It’s got a homey vibe. It’s not over produced and fake like so many celeb photo shoots.
These remind me of the whole Andy Warhol soup can thing, the view that "everything is art" ... so here we're saying "artlessness is art". Or the thing where an "artist" will present a monotone blue square and only people who took 6 years of art school can possibly comprehend how deep and meaning full the damned blue square is. Hey, guess what, when "everything is art" then actually nothing is art. And if it takes 6 years of schooling to understand why your work isn't crap, it clearly doesn't communicate anything well and isn't something to be proud of. While I can kind of appreciate seeing celebrities looking a little more normal, my opinion is that, no, this is not good work at all and I feel dumber for having seen this.
First of all I must admit that I only know very few of these people as I am not interested in this whole "celebrity" business, however, I really like the style of the photos - I think they are funny and in their own way much more relatable than the usual glamour shots.
I kinda like these. They're have a "do what you want" vibe to them and Im here for it.
They might not be what we've come to expect to see, but I like that. It turns the people he's photographing, more into real people, and shows them in a setting it would be more normal to see them. Not all just glamour.
Quite a few of them look like they were based around what you might see a pub closing time eg in a shopping cart or sat in a giant plant pot.
So imagine that these celebs are just regular people. They're all dressed up to go to their mates party. Maybe had a few predrinks. On the way they think, oh I know, let's take photos. Yeah! Don't over think it. Maybe?
I really like these photos and most of the subjects, and I love that tree of endless possibilities. These "celebrities" were willing to break out of character and do something unexpected and human. If they look uncomfortable, .maybe it's because they feel lost without a script.
I think these are great photos. The focus is on the relationship between the subject and the camera. Very direct.
These are great -- akthoguh the tree is a bit overused. Takgin someone famous in fancy clothes and making pics that look like amateurish snap shots creates a really cool contrast. And look, we are talking abotu them online, so they clearly got notied - which is the whole point of photographying celebrities.
Why does it look like these were all taken outside my sister's old LA apartment?
The trees are fantastic but I don't get the heavy use of the random cars. If the car looks more janky he uses more of it. It doesn't make the photos gritty or edgier. There's many ways to make the photos and the shoot look less over processed without making it look like a 6th grade class trip to the zoo in the 80's.
I know 3 people in this shoot. I don’t like the style, but I don’t care either. If people pay him for this, let them. They think it’s worth it.
Photos look like the ones I used to shoot before taking the roll to develop over a decade ago
You can still be normal and not take horrible photos, this is not how to do it
His tree obsession is really, really disturbing. It's incredibly creepy.
These are weird, and some are inappropriate. Most of the women are posed like cheesecake pictures, while the men are just posed strangely—-one even looks like he’s squatting under a tree to take a s**t.
Take crappy snapshots and get paid for it? Good scam. Emphasis on scam.
I’m trying to have a career in photography and THESE are considered professional? Ugh...
Sorry—I don’t get Teller’s work. Let’s just say I wouldn’t buy his Coffee Table Book. Or even go through it at the bookstore.
Why do we keep promoting this kind of s**t? You can't just take bad picture and call it art.... I'm also curious how much the photographer was paid to take these pîctures..
Photos should tell a story. These photos don't. These photos are not about content, composition or model, but only about the photographer.
I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, but you’re exactly right. He thinks it’s about him.
Load More Replies...This is like when you go into build mode on sims and your character moves randomly
So this dude just takes photos in front of this one tree and his Prius and we are calling that art? Shame
Am I the only one who doesn't mind these? I really like the James Corden photo.
I didn’t get it but now I kind of do after seeing them all together. It’s a neighborhood photo shoot. The point is that they are kinda in this home base area and they are the ones standing out as celebs in this comfy neighborhood where you walk by the same shop, same tree, same street parking etc. It’s got a homey vibe. It’s not over produced and fake like so many celeb photo shoots.
These remind me of the whole Andy Warhol soup can thing, the view that "everything is art" ... so here we're saying "artlessness is art". Or the thing where an "artist" will present a monotone blue square and only people who took 6 years of art school can possibly comprehend how deep and meaning full the damned blue square is. Hey, guess what, when "everything is art" then actually nothing is art. And if it takes 6 years of schooling to understand why your work isn't crap, it clearly doesn't communicate anything well and isn't something to be proud of. While I can kind of appreciate seeing celebrities looking a little more normal, my opinion is that, no, this is not good work at all and I feel dumber for having seen this.
First of all I must admit that I only know very few of these people as I am not interested in this whole "celebrity" business, however, I really like the style of the photos - I think they are funny and in their own way much more relatable than the usual glamour shots.
I kinda like these. They're have a "do what you want" vibe to them and Im here for it.
They might not be what we've come to expect to see, but I like that. It turns the people he's photographing, more into real people, and shows them in a setting it would be more normal to see them. Not all just glamour.
Quite a few of them look like they were based around what you might see a pub closing time eg in a shopping cart or sat in a giant plant pot.
So imagine that these celebs are just regular people. They're all dressed up to go to their mates party. Maybe had a few predrinks. On the way they think, oh I know, let's take photos. Yeah! Don't over think it. Maybe?
I really like these photos and most of the subjects, and I love that tree of endless possibilities. These "celebrities" were willing to break out of character and do something unexpected and human. If they look uncomfortable, .maybe it's because they feel lost without a script.
I think these are great photos. The focus is on the relationship between the subject and the camera. Very direct.
These are great -- akthoguh the tree is a bit overused. Takgin someone famous in fancy clothes and making pics that look like amateurish snap shots creates a really cool contrast. And look, we are talking abotu them online, so they clearly got notied - which is the whole point of photographying celebrities.
Why does it look like these were all taken outside my sister's old LA apartment?
The trees are fantastic but I don't get the heavy use of the random cars. If the car looks more janky he uses more of it. It doesn't make the photos gritty or edgier. There's many ways to make the photos and the shoot look less over processed without making it look like a 6th grade class trip to the zoo in the 80's.
I know 3 people in this shoot. I don’t like the style, but I don’t care either. If people pay him for this, let them. They think it’s worth it.
Photos look like the ones I used to shoot before taking the roll to develop over a decade ago
You can still be normal and not take horrible photos, this is not how to do it
His tree obsession is really, really disturbing. It's incredibly creepy.
These are weird, and some are inappropriate. Most of the women are posed like cheesecake pictures, while the men are just posed strangely—-one even looks like he’s squatting under a tree to take a s**t.
Take crappy snapshots and get paid for it? Good scam. Emphasis on scam.
I’m trying to have a career in photography and THESE are considered professional? Ugh...
Sorry—I don’t get Teller’s work. Let’s just say I wouldn’t buy his Coffee Table Book. Or even go through it at the bookstore.
Why do we keep promoting this kind of s**t? You can't just take bad picture and call it art.... I'm also curious how much the photographer was paid to take these pîctures..