How to Be a Photographer

At the start of 2012, an old photo booth film machine was installed in Brussels in a cultural venue situated close to the home of Thomas Vanden Driessche, the Belgian documentary photographer. In the style of Topor, Thomas decided to use this medium and its constraints to narrate through these strips of 4 images, stories about the small world of photography that he had become familiar with over several years. These “How to be a photographer in 4 lessons,” produced on a weekly basis and broadcast to as many people as possible via the internet, ended up developing into a genuine little guide to contemporary photography. Armed with his old Valentine typewriter, Thomas gives his lessons with his own brand of very personal humour and gentle irony highlighting the stereotypes and spinoffs of certain trends of contemporary photography. On a personal basis the author embraces numerous influences from these great documentary photography trends in his personal works, not sparing himself in his productions and in a certain way questions his own approach. Dedicated website : www.howtobe.be