David and Victoria Beckham’s eldest – an aspiring photographer – is due to release his first photography book later this week. Entitled "What I See," the book is listed by the publishers as “a series of snapshots of his life,” but has been panned on social media and other online platforms.
London-based journalist Alice Jones has been leading criticism of the book on Twitter, sharing an image of several pages with the caption "Huge fan of Brooklyn Beckham's terrible photographs and even worse captions." The images she is referencing include a blurry black and white photo of a group of people dining, with the caption "I like this picture – it's out of focus but you can tell there's a lot going on.”
Another image on the page opposite shows the silhouette of an elephant, labelled “so hard to photograph but incredible to see." Jones’ mocking tweet has so far garnered over 10,000 retweets, with Twitter users posting images of elephants to mock Beckham, and many are using the hashtag #PrayForPublishing.
"What I See" features a grand total of 300 images from Brooklyn’s day to day life. Speaking ahead of the book’s launch, he said:
I carry a camera around with me absolutely everywhere so I don’t miss a potential photographic moment. Having said that, I don’t love being photographed myself. I accept it because I have grown up with it.
I really am not a model. I have been lucky enough to have been asked to do some amazing shoots in front of the camera - and while I much prefer to be behind it, I have learned a huge amount from the photographers I have worked with. I hope to take those experiences with me as I continue to learn.
Last year, the Fstoppers community was divided when we reported that Brooklyn had landed the coveted role of lead photographer for a Burberry campaign. With news breaking of his book deal, it seems he is continuing to make bold moves in his steps to becoming a renowned photographer. But having freshly turned 18, is it too much, too soon?
What I See is released on 29th June. Preorder it here.
[via Dazed]
Nah, it´s not the first name. The last name is the door opener. But Beaverlick Beckham sounds awsome.
That made me spit my coffee out.
You really need to trademark Beaverlick...
It's a town in Kentucky.
Vanity publications infect the photographic book market like lice!
The Bored and Ultra-Rich have historically been quite prone to presuming they're photographers, and quite able to publish vanity works of their photographs on a yearly basis if they so choose.
Indeed, some wealthy photographers have historically made quite a career out of it.
I'd not ever even consider purchasing a book that was full of photographs made by somebody who lacked any and all semblance of an artistic vision ... BUT - at least he's out there shooting!
Simply put, because of his famous parents and his own fame will he make money off this. Where as an amazing photographer (plenty are that are not 'famous') would struggle to get a publisher etc even if the work is ground breaking. Bloody sad really.
it's nice to have a rich daddy. if those two pics are like the whole book, wow. he needs to shoot a lot more. i don't wanna sound harsh but………….at least he is out shooting.
Publishing has never been about discovering true artist'. It's about making money off the writer/photographer. In this case, it's an 18 year old with two famous parents. If his parents were John and Kathy Nobody, we wouldn't be talking about his pictures being published, because, they wouldn't be published in the first place. We see this with Kendall Jenner and Will Smith's kids snapping instagram pictures. Vogue and the rest of them are quick to publish them because of the name, not the talent behind it, because usually there isn't any. It's like the omelette becoming more famous than the chef who cooked it.
I think you nailed it here.
This isn't about how good he is at shooting anything. It's just a money grab by publishers and himself. It's a leverage of fame.
Yeah, screw this guy for trying to do something!
...but he didn't try, he got the publishing deal because of who he is. He should finish his studying, hone his skills then produce something that actually merits a book deal.
He didn't try? Go say that to his face. Go tell him he didn't try. Go tell him he's not worthy.
Someone's a bit touchy, is that Brooklyn Beckham hiding behind a fake account? He got the book deal because Penguin wanted to produce his 1st ever book and reap the profits from all his teenage instagram followers, if you can't see that your blind. I'm not hating on the guy, everyone is free to express themselves in any way they want but can you name me one photographer that has had their work published and landed big name contracts when they are unknown and still studying? He's doing so well because of his name and not his art, which in turn disrespects professional photography.
I think you're getting a little to invested into what people are saying. It's like seeing the coach's kid get started on varsity because he's the coach's kid. Is he/she going to try hard? probably, but that doesn't mean everyone should be all hyped up over it.
This is a photography community and I'm sure there's a large number of people in it that look at what Brooklyn does and feels like "Seriously?! Why?" that same feeling we get when we see celebrities who are famous for being famous.
The publisher is more concerned with what will sell rather than making sure its "good". It's shitty but it's also just reality. We see this type of thing everywhere. Look at what we used to consider educational television networks like Discovery, and History. With the demand for profits ever increasing they no longer seem to care about the quality of the shows they air and now focus on what will increase ratings.
Everyone tries. There is however massive difference in the level of adversity one faces coming from fame vs being an everyday person. Trying is being Joey L. and landing the twilight saga at 16 because your knowledge of light and composition are so far beyond why many of us could ever dream of achieving. Brooklyn "tried" but I doubt he sweated and toiled like most of us have to do to even get out foots in the door. If he begins to be serious I deeply look forward to it. But the book and these captions make me doubt the amount of trying very much.
i think he comes across as quite humble
I'm sure he has as much potential as any of us. But i think at some point he will benefit more from someone telling him where and how he can improve rather than kissing his butt. He obviously has a lot of people around him affirming his talent, but what he needs is direction from someone he trusts. A critic spewing vitriol can be seen as just being a "hater."
This^^^^^
He's giving it a go, lots of backing and profile- maybe he will make a career of it. Good luck to him a big step for a young kid
It was INCREDIBLY hard to find an elephant in the middle of winter in Sweden. :-)