• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Thomas

We’ve all done it. The arms-length self-portrait with face-blanching flash. And while these types of photos are ubiquitous in the online jungle, few have documented the moment of their conception. These untold origin stories are the subject of photographer Wolfram Hahn’s award-winning project, Into the Light.

“The digital camera and the computer allow the possibility of shutting oneself away while simultaneously maintaining contact with others,” says Hahn. “I began to ask myself, what is behind these moments … how does it look when somebody is taking their photograph at home and alone?”

Into The Light began with Hahn scouting profile portraits of people in his home city of Berlin. When he found a worthy self-portrait, he sent a message inquiring about why the user took the photo. Then, if the user was game, Hahn schlepped his a tripod-mounted Hasselblad over to the subject’s apartment and re-enacted the original picture-taking scene.

“Same clothes, same place and also with the same light — mostly daylight,” says Hahn. “The moment does not appear spectacular. You see people in their rooms photographing themselves, which is nothing special since it’s happening everywhere, all the time.”

The thought-provoking images earned Hahn a World Press Photo award. While straddling the line between silly and serious, the photos elevate an online cliché into a metaphysical moment of birth for one’s internet persona. As such, the exact moment the subject’s camera flashes is crucial for Hahn, like a baptism of light.

“I asked [the sitters] to use the red eye flash, which goes off two times. It helped me to take the photo simultaneously at the moment when they put themselves ‘into the light’; the making of their digital identity.”

In the photos, Hahn makes a special point of keeping the subjects’ surroundings in focus, which can sometimes say more about them than their face or expression.

“In the self-portraits, you can find a lot of stereotypes and icons from movies, advertising and the music industry. Somehow, this network of self-portraits is a mirror of society.”

All photos: Wolfram Hahn