It’s fair to assume that most people reading this would want to be known as ‘good’ – or at least passable – photographers, but for Blanche Mortemard from Paris, being really rubbish has really paid off.
For Blanche has been named the overall winner of a unique competition from Icelandair to find the world’s worst photographer. And, in a shocking example of throwing good money after bad, she gets paid $50,000 for her ineptitude!
Here’s the marketing method behind Icelandair’s madness.
Once the long-suffering judges of the contest had found the world’s worst photographer – the poor souls had to slog through nearly 130,000 entries from shameless wannabes – the ‘winner’ gets flown out to Iceland to prove that even a real photographic duffer can’t help but take decent pictures of this uniquely photogenic country.
Named and shamed
So, Blanche is far from being upset about being named and shamed as the world’s worst photographer – not only is she getting a free 10-day trip to Iceland, she’s getting paid $50k to try and prove that it’s about location, location, location when it comes to photography.
The irony, of course, is that most talented landscape photographers would struggle to make anywhere near that from a relatively short trip.
See the YouTube video below for more about Blanche and the whole madcap scheme.
‘For years, friends and family have asked why my photos always look disappointing,’ said an unrepentant Blanche. ‘I’m thrilled to finally have an answer: I was training for this role… (it’s) probably the only photography competition I ever stood a chance of winning.’
Meanwhile the judges were apparently impressed by her ‘admirable lack of skills and knowledge of basic photography.’
So to sum up – sometimes it’s better to be really bad at something, rather than just mediocre. You will often get more attention that way!
Further reading
Best photography competitions to enter in 2026
Beginners guide to the art of photography and composition
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