Martin Parr is one of the most important documentary photographers in contemporary photography. He has published more than 120 photographic books and edited more than 30 additional ones. He has also been the director of the acclaimed Magnum agency and has been characterized by his constant search to generate speeches about today’s society. With more than 50 years of experience, he is a photographer who remains open to photographic evolution and now tells his vision on mobile photography.
New tools
Parr is one of the jurors of the Vivo and National Geographic mobile photography contest, ‘Vision + Mobile Awards 2021 ‘. As PetaPixel reports, during a recent interview, Parr told the media his position on how smartphones have transformed photography.
The photographer believes that thanks to apps like Instagram and the arrival of mobile phones, a new generation of photographers was born. Unlike in times past, where the process of convincing a gallery or publisher limited access to promotion and showing the work, this generation has the ability to reach millions of people thanks to the tools. The options to self-publish and promote the work are less expensive and have a wide reach in the world.
In that sense, standing out and growing in the professional market is more difficult. It is not so easy to be published by a magazine, but the market for prints has grown, giving other opportunities for distribution and earning income.
By using a mobile instead of a traditional camera, photographers can also approach other situations, being less intrusive than when using large lenses. It is also more useful in tense situations like documenting a situation like a person being arrested and even close-ups. He explains that this is due to the familiarity of seeing smartphones everywhere.
Other advantages include ease of use. For Parr, anyone who captures images is a photographer. Mobile photography gives access for people to experience photography up close regardless of age and experience. Free your mind from technical aspects so you can focus on the creative and in the moment.
With this in mind, Parr says that what matters is “The quality of the story and the quality of the final image”. What do you think?