‘A bad photo tells a story a perfect one can’t’: I spoke to the ‘world’s worst photographer’ about the importance of imperfection in photography
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Blanche Mortemard is the “world’s worst photographer.”
I don’t mean that as a rude comment — on the contrary, it’s the sought-after and unique title bestowed upon the 28-year-old for winning a competition hosted by Icelandair (yes, the airline). Icelandair launched its Really Bad Photographer campaign in March 2026, to find the world’s worst amateur photographer. After receiving 127,642 entries from 178 countries, Blanche came out on top when the winner was announced in June.
The judges spent over 2,000 hours sifting through the applications and narrowing the list of finalists down to 13. The winner, Blanche, received a $50,000 case prize, a 10-day trip to Iceland, and of course, a title most people could only dream of. When I first saw the ad for the competition on Instagram, I chuckled and thought to myself, “How cool would it be to tell people you’re the world’s worst photographer?”
And Blanche has lived that reality for a few months now, and her work was even displayed at White Rabbit Studios in London, U.K. in September. But what inspired Blanche? And how did she capture and choose her “worst” photos as part of her entry? I had the pleasure of speaking with her, and she shared some wonderful anecdotes — and what imperfection in photography means to her.
‘Being the best of the worst is great’
(Image credit: Icelandair)
Before diving into Blanche’s creative process that led to her winning the title of “world’s worst photographer,” I had to ask what the application process was like. Similar to how I found out about the competition, Blanche was tempted to apply after seeing an Instagram ad. “I saw that there was some potential there,” she says. “I applied three weeks before applications closed and didn’t really think anything of it.
“When I saw that there were more than 127,000 applications, I was like, ‘Okay, no chance at all.'”
Blanche Mortemard
“Then, when I saw that there were more than 127,000 applications, I was like, ‘Okay, no chance at all.’ And then, against all odds, I received an email saying I’d been shortlisted, so that was a surprise. There were several interviews after that, and I found out in June that I’d won.”
Blanche doesn’t hold back her smile and grin as she says that. It’s a monumental achievement, after all, and Blanche says that it was nothing short of an “emotional rollercoaster.”
(Image credit: Icelandair)
“When the marketing director said, ‘Can you hop on a call quickly? It’s for paperwork.’ I thought to myself that I’d been disqualified because we were in the final stages. My brain was overthinking everything,” she laughs.
“I got on the call and he said, ‘There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that there’s nothing wrong with your paperwork, and the good news is… uh… well, you’re the world’s worst photographer.’ I think my brain shut down when I heard that. Like, what’s going on? I can’t be the one! It was all just really incredible.”
So what made Blanche stand out? “My charisma, of course,” she remarks and I can’t deny that — she’s very charming and super fun to talk to! “Being the best of the worst is great, and it just shows that you don’t have to be prefect at something to experience something incredible.”
‘A bad photo tells a story’
You’ve got Sony’s World Photography Awards, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and many more competitions that recognize photographers who are at the top of their game. Icelandair’s Really Bad Photographer award is unique, and in a way, more accessible.
“I think everyone’s tired of photos that don’t feel authentic anymore. I think people are now saying, ‘Okay, I can be myself, I’m not perfect but I can still do something incredible.'”
Blanche Mortemard
“You don’t see this type of campaign every day,” Blanche muses on the one-of-a-kind contest. Imperfection in photography needs to be recognized more, and this campaign is a step towards that. “No one wants the perfect image anymore,” Blanche answers when I ask her why she thinks this contest became so popular.
“The point of the whole project was to show that anybody could take good pictures of Iceland, and you don’t need a super expensive camera to do that. Anybody, even a bad photographer, a normal human can do anything.”
And I can attest to the fact that anyone can take good pictures of Iceland. I’ve been there and it’s my favorite country on our planet, and I remember when we went to Skógafoss, the mist coming from the waterfall was so much that more than half the photos I took were blurry. When I shared this anecdote with Blanche, both of us agreed that imperfect photos are just as important as technically perfect ones.
“The photos I prefer the most are the imperfect ones,” she says. “You know, the ones that are kind of blurry? A bad photo tells a story a perfect one can’t. I don’t want people to take bad photos all the time, of course, but I want them to at least keep those, and realize that they’re memories.”
Blanche isn’t the only one who thinks that. Compact, point-and-shoot, and film cameras have seen a resurgence in the last few years — and Gen Z seems to be the reason why. In 2025, 35% of the 42 million active film camera users worldwide were reported to be between the ages of 18 and 30. As of 2026, compact camera shipments are up 29.6% with a value growth of 49.8%, according to CIPA.
“I think everyone’s tired of photos that don’t feel authentic anymore,” Blanche adds, “Social media especially focuses so much on over-editing everything, to make everything perfect, and that’s exhausting. I think people are now saying, ‘Okay, I can be myself, I’m not perfect but I can still do something incredible.’ It’s part of being human and that’s what we’re going back towards.”
‘Just me and my lack of talent’
When the judges crowned Blanche the winner, they commended her for her “admirable lack of skills and knowledge of basic photography.” With no background in photography, and as someone who “never touches a camera on a day-to-day basis,” Blanche was the perfect candidate for Icelandair’s competition — and now she’s the face of the viral campaign.
“I have absolutely no background in photography,” she shares, “I work in production, in an office, and I never touch a camera on a day-to-day basis. I have no talent whatsoever.” Sorry, Blanche, I disagree; give yourself some credit! It takes a lot of talent to be considered a “bad photographer” in today’s day and age. Blanche used an iPhone 17 Pro to photograph Iceland, and anyone who’s familiar with phones knows that it has a superb, powerful camera.
And yet, Blanche managed to capture wonky horizons, thumbs in front of the lens, and occasionally out-of-focus shots. So, yes, that takes talent. “The iPhone 17 Pro takes absolutely beautiful photos — not with my unique talent, though,” Blanche chuckles.
Her adventures haven’t ended. She’s going to be visiting Iceland again very soon to (badly) photograph the Northern Lights, and then she’s off to New York to show off her (lack of) talent at the Taste of Iceland event in October.
Personally, I believe Blanche is a great inspiration. I found speaking with her very enlightening, and her love for imperfect photos — and the importance of preserving memories — is a strong message, and one we should all receive and embody.
“Just me and my lack of talent and my camera,” is how she summed it up, so the next time you take a bad photo, don’t delete it, and save it just for Blanche.
Watch all 11 episodes of Blanche’s adventures around Iceland now.
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