Icelandair selects successful candidate for unconventional role as photographer | News
Icelandair, the national airline of Iceland, is proud to announce the selected candidate in its viral search for the Worst Photographer in the World, poised to become the unexpected name behind a new global advertising campaign.
Icelandair launched this unconventional recruitment campaign after discovering that many people think images of Iceland ‘seem too good to be true’. By championing imperfect photography – whether it’s blurry, poorly composed or poorly lit – Icelandair aims to prove that Iceland’s natural beauty is so breathtaking that it transcends technical photographic skills. No filters. No AI trickery. Just raw, authentic moments that remind us why Iceland actually deserves all the hype.
The winning applicant
The person Icelandair really hates taking photos is Blanche Mortemard, from Paris, France. Blanche was chosen from an unprecedented number of 127,642 applications submitted from 178 countries around the world, following a highly competitive selection process in which she impressed the Icelandair team with her admirable lack of skills and knowledge of basic photography. Blanche really is the best of the worst, bravo.
During the interview process, Blanche demonstrated an incredible ability to take bad photos and shared many photos from her camera roll, confirming to the Icelandair team that her poor photography skills extend far beyond the application itself. What she also showed was an insight into what really matters in photography: capturing real, unfiltered moments – no matter how they look. Blurred? Completely acceptable. Have you accidentally decapitated your subject? Welcome to the club. Lighting that makes it look like everyone came out of a cave? Kiss from the chef.
Speaking about her recruitment, Blanche said: “Friends and family have been asking for years why my photos always look disappointing. I’m thrilled to finally have an answer: I was training for this role. This project celebrates imperfection – probably the only photography competition I’ve ever been able to win.”
She added: “What excites me most is exploring Iceland. Every photo I see looks completely different: glaciers, volcanoes, black sand beaches, waterfalls. Choose a lane, Iceland! I’m not entirely convinced you’re real. I will document Iceland with the confidence of a professional photographer and the skills of someone who is definitely not one. If Iceland can survive being photographed by me, it can survive anything!”
“We are very happy to have finally found our bad photographer,” said Gísli S. Brynjólfsson, Global Director of Marketing, Icelandair. “This project has resonated around the world as people are tired of manufactured perfection. We really admired people’s courage to embrace authenticity over counterfeit – that really stood out to all the applicants. Plus, we had a lot of fun looking at some truly unforgettable entries. Blanche perfectly captures what we were looking for, and we can’t wait to work with her.”
The overwhelming response proves that the world is tired of polished, filtered and AI-enhanced everything. Removing gatekeeping requirements like “professional portfolios” and “actual photography skills” creates people who bring real passion and perspective – even if their perspective is somewhat blurred.
Blanche has now secured a contract deal with Icelandair for an extensive Icelandic photography expedition – where she has 10 days to prove that Iceland’s natural beauty is indeed infallible, even in her hands.
As Icelandair’s bad photographer, she is paid a flat fee of $50,000 for her time, photos and expenses. The job includes flights, accommodation and transportation in Iceland. Also included: eternal glory as the person who got paid to do what everyone said he was terrible at.
What’s next?
The search for the worst photographer may be over, but now comes the fun part: putting Blanche’s (lack of) skills to the test on the road in Iceland. You can follow Blanche’s journey this summer on Icelandair’s website and social media channels.
