Leo Burnett: Canon gets photographers to rethink the selfie

Leo Burnett seems to have saved its most thought-provoking edition in Canon Australia’s The Lab series for 2017.

The Lab – Reflect asked three photographers to think about how they would capture a typical portrait. And then it threw them a curly twist.

When each of the photographers arrived to record the interview questions they’d sent ahead for an unknown subject, he realised that he would be interviewing himself – and would be asking a range of questions – really personal questions – that required him to dig deep within himself. The photographers knew then that they were the subjects of these portraits from another viewpoint – these self-portraits.

The photographers asked questions like, How do we define ourselves? What are we passionate about? What are we proud of? What do we share with the world around us?

And the project also challenges popular notions of the ubiquitous selfie. Are these images really vacuous representations of who we are? Could the self-portrait be the new selfie?

The Lab content series, which began in 2015, is designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens and challenge the creative community to think differently.

Canon’s not for entertainment branded content

Credits:
Creative agency: Leo Burnett Sydney
Executive creative directors: Vince Lagana & Grant MacAloon –
Creative director: Kieran Ots
Senior art director: Dave Varney
Group business director: Jonny Bucknall
Senior account director: Natalie Tay-Uceda
Producer: Cassie Collin