Photographer Nina Berman on the Nightmare of Going Viral and a Call from Donald Trump

When Nina Berman attending the wedding of US Marine Sergeant Ty Ziegel and his high school sweetheart Renée Kline, she had no idea that the picture she took of a private moment in the lives of two traumatized young people would be co-opted and corrupted by the back alleys of the internet.

After the photo took home first prize at World Press Photo, it took on a life of its own. It was taken out of context and robbed of its original purpose. It appeared on a Facebook page called “cute relationships.” Donald Trump asked to publish it in his book. What was meant to be a portrait of the “deep and lasting human cost of war” became “a crass display for manipulators and idiots.”

Hear her story in the video above.

Nina Berman’s talk was a part of The BlowUp, a quarterly event hosted by Feature Shoot and sponsored by Agency Access.

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