The curious case of models turning photographers

Do you remember when Brooklyn Beckham, Victoria and David Beckham's firstborn, was hired by Burberry to shoot the Brit fragrance campaign? That news shocked the web and provoked the anger of a lot of professional photographers, including Chris Floyd and Jon Gorrigan. We talked about a “Brooklyngate” because the very young neo-photographer (who was 16 when the polemic arose) was accused of recommendations and nepotism, while the British brand was criticized of diminishing and degrading the work of fashion photography.

A year has passed since that case, but today the story seems to be repeating itself. This time, to play the role of the improvised photographer is not a teenager with very well-known surname, but there's a world-famous model. Or better, there are some world-famous models. Once again: do you remember when, about a week ago, Kendall Jenner deleted her Instagram account, spreading panic among her fans? Well, the model came back on the social, but showing her new passion, the photography, precisely. In fact, a few days ago the It girl posted on Instagram some images with the revealing caption “by me”. It's about three grainy photos with a red light, which portray some guys the model shot during a concert and which could anticipate, who knows, the new working career the topmodel is gonna try. 

But that's not all. Not so long ago LOVE's editor-in-chief, Katie Eleanor Grand, unveiled the collaboration with Kendall Jenner to find the new cover star for the SS17 issue. She also will shoot the twenty finalists os selection in Los Angeles in these days. If this is a passing passion or the beginning of a new career, we are not sure about it yet. The only certainty is that the phenomenon of the models who turn photographers has involved other big names.

In fact, last summer Bella Hadid made a shooting for W Magazine, photographing the family friend Jesse Jo Stark and her mother Laurie Lynn in Los Angeles. Some weeks later, her sister, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner's best friend, hold a camera to take some polaroids during last Paris Fashion Week in exclusive for V Magazine. And the list is long: Behati Prinsloo opened her personal Tumblr account to share all pictures she took and Suki Waterhouse shot her friends Cara Delevingne and Georgia May Jagger for an exhibition in London. The model Louise Parker, beloved by Chanel and Alexander Wang, created a photo-diary of her trip in Minnesota, her hometown, revealing her passion for photography. Also the Balenciaga's model, Radhika Nair, has a passion for photography and she shared on W Magazine the pictures she took in Kerala, her birthplace in India. At this point, we can really talk about a Models Turning Photographers Phenomenon. 

However, the most interesting aspect in this case it's not to doubt the working credibility of th model who reveals herself as photographer, but to understand why we should not to accept them as such. Let me explain. contrary to the Brooklyngate, in which people pointed the finger against the young Beckham because of his popularity in comparison with his actual working experiences on set, in case of models critics are based on some prejudices for which a model can only be beautiful. The common stereotype wants models as amazing women who can only pose and walk on runways, ignoring the fact that hey! maybe they also have other passions, interests and, even, some talents. 

The history has taught us that a model can do something else, for example Milla Jovovich and the more recent Cara Delevingne. So, why do we still turn our nose if a model tries to do other things? Why do we get ready to criticise and accuse of undeserved favoritism if Kendall Jenner holds a camera? It's clear that a lot of of models mentioned above are not professional photographer and most probably for them photography is a funny entertainment, rather than a real job. It's also abvious that they have considerable advantages and their popularity plays an important role, which allows them to begin their passion without risks and, maybe, successfully.

It's all true, but it's also stupid to criticise a model who tries to be a photographer just because she is a model and so, for some stereotyped reason, she is not able to do it. How many of your friends have tried to be a photographer, buying a Canon camera? Not a few, I think. Some have continued successfully, others stopped trying after some pictures posted on Facebook. So, according to the same logical, even a random Kendall Jenner can try, for fun or for passion, to experiment with this art. Who knows, maybe you would like her photos.