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These Wedding Photos Have Stirred A Lot Of Controversy
This is so not okay.
Ryan Aliapoulios
11.20.18

There are different perspectives people can take when it comes to tourism.

On the one hand, traveling around the world can humble you, broaden your perspective and teach you to appreciate what you have and what you share with others. On the other hand, tourism can sometimes be a way to reaffirm beliefs that we already have or a way to use other people’s cultures and identities as props or set dressing in our own stories.

When you combine this debate with the industry around wedding photography, you get a truly explosive news story.

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Various news outlets have recently covered wedding pictures taken by photographer John Milton of him and his wife.

The pictures originally appeared on Milton’s popular photography Instagram called 30.raw, though his account has since been taken down. The photos rose to media prominence after they were shared on Facebook by Cecelia Christin, an ESL teacher who was critical of the shoot:

What in the fresh yt hell is this mayo encrusted bullshit?There are literally too many things wrong, here…the audacity of the caucasity

Posted by Cecilia Christin onMonday, October 22, 2018

According to an interview with Business Insider, Christin shared the photos because she wanted to promote a discussion about cultural sensitivity. “I decided to share these pictures in order to foster discussion within my friends and following, specifically about the accessorization [sic] of black bodies for this couple’s photo shoot.”

Still, the internet has plenty of its own opinions on the shoot as well.

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The pictures were picked up by Twitter user @judeinlondon2, who shared them far and wide:

She clarified her concerns in a follow-up tweet, showing exactly why she found the photos so distasteful:

The woman behind the account, Jude Wanga, did an interview with Buzzfeed News to explain her position in more detail.

“It hit a raw nerve because I’m Congolese,” Wanga said, “and I’ve previously traveled to that exact location. It made me angry to see it reduced to a backdrop for privilege.” For his part, Milton said that he wanted to do the photos as a way to get away from “the typical goofy wedding shots” that the industry is known for.

Although most online interviews with Milton have been taken down, one remains on Eric Kim Photography.

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In the interview, Milton describes his photographic style and his approach to his new hobby.

Milton said he’d been living in Budapest, Hungary for 20 years as an investment banker before deciding to retire and go traveling. It was then, he said, that got interested in photography. “I would describe my style as ‘raw and in your face,’” he said. “This mirrors my personality as I would describe myself as an aggressive go-getter. I like to stir the pot and push the envelope.”

As it turns out, these photos did exactly that.

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Still, the photo session was no accident but more of a deliberate pattern of photographic shoots orchestrated by Milton.

When asked where he goes for shoots and how he makes those decisions, Milton said that he had a few criteria. “Little to no tourism, travel warnings and widespread discouragement from friends and family are welcome,” he said. “Imagine riding around Mogadishu, Somalia on the back of a pick-up truck with armed militants to the exact spot where Black Hawk Down took place.”

While the idea behind these shoots is clear, the intention is a little bit muddier.

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While there’s certainly a place for edgy and combative art, Milton’s approach seems out of touch with the reality of the places he visits.

Many people online have criticized the photos as “poverty porn” or “war porn” for the way they capture other people’s cultures as simply edgy or dangerous without considering the broader context. In the context of a wedding shoot, something already incredibly artificial and staged, grounding it in the middle of an actual civil conflict as a backdrop struck most people as incredibly offensive. If you’ve given these photos a look, what do you think? How could these photos have been done differently?

Let us know in the comments below.

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