POSE! The everlasting allure of the photo booth
On self-portraiture and the photo booth as an aesthetic exploration of identity.
Invented nearly a century ago by Anatol Josepho and patented as the ‘Photomaton', the photo booth has remained virtually unchanged. Most notably utilised for capturing portrait-style images for documents of identification, the coin-operated devices were typically placed in public transport stations or on street corners. Swiftly becoming established in popular culture thanks to their user-operated design, instantaneous photo mechanisms, and quick results, the iconic aesthetic continues to operate in a lane of its own.
Since the turn of the century and the subsequent rise in personal technology devices, elements of the original photo booth design have continued to be a source of inspiration in new media. In 2005, Apple released its webcam application named ‘Photo Booth’, which Kim Kardashian used to self-shoot a SKIMS campaign during the pandemic. In the years that followed, we have seen a steady rise in visual media trends harking back to the aesthetics of film, polaroid, and webcam-style photography. From filters echoing the vintage quality of photo booths to social media layouts that mimic the strip-style arrangement of the printed images, the aesthetics of photo booths are ingrained in the contemporary visual exploration of identity.
Curators Clément Chéroux and Sam Stourdzé explored the appeal of the photo booth as part of an exhibition at Musée de l’Elysée in 2012. Entitled ‘Behind the Curtain - the Aesthetics of the Photobooth’, the curators noted that the booths provide a space for both introspection and reflection, likening them to ‘a modern confessional’. It was pointed out that the tiny enclosed space is reminiscent of the stall in which Christian priests sit to hear the confessions of penitents. Crucially, once inside, the photo booth becomes a private space that transcends the ignominy of posing for a photographer. Marco Ferrari (aka @pplinphotobooth) remarked that ‘the closed, private environment of the booth allows the sitter to relax [which] contributes to their ability to freely express themselves in the way they pose.’ Whilst selfie practices remove the need for a separate photographer, the automatic quality of a photo booth further negates composition responsibilities such as framing, background setting, and lighting adjustments. When we enter a photo booth, we become the subject involved in a machinic step-by-step process, with our bodily positioning and facial expressions the only things we can typically control.
Certainly, with the face and our bodily posture being the point of focus in these types of images, the positioning of one’s body and face is a key aspect of photo booth photography. Crucially, the directness of the resulting image is implicit due to the fact that the subject has entered the booth for one specific purpose. As well as the obvious aspect of capturing a representation of our image, the self-portrait in all its forms serves as an expression of self. With photo booth self-portraiture in particular, the lack of contextual setting and plain backdrop detaches the subject from everyday life. The photo booth acts as a blank space upon which aspects of who we are can be projected. Essentially, when we place ourselves inside a photo booth, we relent to the age-old process of self-portraiture by engaging in a direct physical exploration of identity.
Encompassing multiple mediums, self-portraiture dates back centuries. Traditionally highly subjective pieces that provided the artist with an opportunity to portray themselves as they wished, the self-depictions notably merge subject and creator. Whether paint on canvas or a collection of pixels, a self-portrait is a particular form of identity expression that inevitably carries connotations of performativity. In their seminal work on gender performativity, Judith Butler describes an act of identity as performative if it produces a series of events. They suggest that identity is a product of complex interactions between the physical body and the social environment in which bodies exist. Butler notes that meaning is made through repeated actions and gestures that have been learned throughout history and, broadly speaking, all aspects of identity expression are imbued with performativity. With this in mind, we can think of the physical photo booth as offering a specific environment for performativity.
Pop artist Andy Warhol cemented photo booth imagery as an artistic medium thanks to his continued exploration of the self-portrait. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes “The serial, mechanical nature of the strips [which] provided Warhol with an ideal model for his aesthetic of passivity, detachment, and instant celebrity.” Thereafter, the strip of portrait images became a visual signifier of Warhol’s exploration of identity and the meaning-making practices of self-photography. This idea of ‘instant celebrity’ carries connotations of mystery, where the photo booth can momentarily remove us from the mundane settings of everyday life. The notion of passivity and detachment echoes the collective desire to convey effortlessness on modern social media platforms such as BeReal.
In ‘The Art of Self Invention’, Joanne Finkelstein comments on the ‘Spectatorship cultivated through cinema, art, theatre, and fashion [that] has conventionalized the visual representation of identity’. In contemporary culture, selfie practices are intrinsically linked to the exploration of identity. Whilst claiming an identity is part of the human experience, visual media has exacerbated the daily pursuit of who we are. With the photo booth self-portrait specifically, who we are is an easily mouldable concept. With a lack of geographical context, typically playful poses, and the vintage-style aesthetic of photo booth photography itself, we have an illusive canvas upon which to project our identity.
In an article I wrote for i-D last month about the recent Passport Make-Up Craze, I concurred that the photo booth provides us with a specific aesthetic fusion of effortlessness and directness. With the intimacy of photo booths and connotations of Warhol's ‘instant celebrity’, the resulting image carries with it an irreplaceable appeal. Whilst the digital selfie hold parallels to self-portraiture, photo booths remain spaces that have never quite been recreated digitally. In an age where the pursuit of identity drives the majority of media, the photo booth’s impenetrable aesthetic only seems to become more enchanting with time.