Photographer Alma Haser has presented her series Empty Red Carpet, where she digitally erases celebrities like Anya Taylor-Joy or Pedro Pascal from Cannes photos. The result is empty silhouettes and floating cameras, a landscape that transforms glamour into something unsettling. The artist plays with absence to question media obsession.
The technical process behind the ghost silhouettes 🛠️
Haser uses advanced digital editing techniques to remove subjects from original images. First, she selects high-resolution press shots from the festival. Then, using cloning and content-aware fill tools, she reconstructs backgrounds and textures. The biggest challenge is maintaining consistent lighting and shadows without the original body. Photographers' cameras are left intact, floating, to emphasize the emptiness.
Without stars, the red carpet looks like a waiting room 🎭
By removing the celebrities, the photos show what was always there: a fabric hallway, spotlights, and photographers pointing at the air. It's as if the main event were the camera itself, and the actors, mere forgettable accessories. The series recalls those parties where everyone looks at their phones and no one talks to anyone. Good thing at least the silhouettes don't ask for selfies.