Life of a Documentary Photographer | Featured Photographer - Mark Seymour
How did you get your start in the world of photography?
Although I’d always been interested in photography, had a camera, took snaps of family, friends and holidays, when I left school I started an apprenticeship and then moved into a sales job; steady, secure employment, as expected for a young lad coming from a blue-collar background. At that point photography was something I really enjoyed and was interested in but I did not see it as a career option. Buying my first house, marriage, kids, all priorities that kept me in gainful employment.
And then one day I saw an advert for wedding photography sales, an opportunity to earn some extra money as a second job, it was my first step into the photography business. I was more interested in viewing the images than making sales and thought ‘I could do that’, so I approached the company to see if they would let me train as a photographer.So, after going out on a couple of weddings with the established photographers I was let loose on my own weddings with a camera and 5 rolls of film to capture the day – no pressure!
And that was it; hook, line and sinker, I loved it. Taking photographs seemed so natural, and I loved the idea of capturing a couples wedding day. Of course, being a wedding photographer in the eighties was a very different job to photographing today, but more of that later…
Why is photography important to you? Can you describe the moment when you knew photography was just something that you had to do?
As I have said, I have always been interested in photography, long before it became my profession. I grew up with a dad who loved to take photographs and as a child I was insistent on having my own camera to go around taking photos of my younger brother, my family and the world around me. It is only recently that my mum informed me that they never put a film in the camera – rookie mistake!For me photography is about making memories; it is about people, emotions and moments in time. I want my photographs to transport people to a time, place and feeling. I want my audience to be able to connect with the image on a human emotional level; sometimes that might be with a sense of happiness and joy, making you smile or laugh, but I don’t shy away from harder emotions, evoking an empathic response, even tears.
In the words of David Gates - “ If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can’t I paint you ”
I believe the best photography is more than just a snap shot of a person or a place, it should tell their story in a natural, candid form, capturing the truth and raw emotions. These pictures are the ones that cause a reaction when you look at them, make you feel, make you think, and that’s what photography is all about for me. Whether it’s my wedding photography, my personal portfolios or my documentary street photography, my starting point is the same; people and emotions captured naturally to make life long memories.
So, I cannot profess to having a light bulb moment when photography became the thing I had to do, because I think it was always part of me. I was lucky enough for it to develop into a career. Photography is not just my job, it’s my passion, it is my life, my camera is always with me and I am never not taking pictures.
What has been your career path so far?
So, starting in sales and then stepping up to be the wedding photographer in the days of film I honed my skills. Back when I started the emphasis was on more traditional formal photographs, relying on the bride and groom and guests being posed for the key shots of the day. There were some standard shots like the bride and groom’s image appearing in a brandy glass – things that now make me shudder! Film was expensive and so this style of photography was definitely the less risky option, you could pretty much guarantee delivery of a standard set of wedding images.
There was something missing for me, I wanted my images to have more depth and quality. I knew I wanted to develop my own unique style and I was constantly looking for inspiration in great photographers. I collect photography books so I am always open to new styles and ideas, even if they are not my personal choice, keeping your photography moving forward and trying new things is what keeps your images interesting and contemporary. Now I am known for my distinctive style; observational documentary, edited in heavily contrasting black and white, akin to the fine art chiaroscuro.The advent of digital was a key point in my photography career. As I always tell photographers on my training courses, shooting is for free so keep shooting but edit hard back on the computer.
Chairing the London Portrait Group was an incredible opportunity, and meant I got to meet and become friends with many of my photographic heroes; Lord Litchfield, David Bailey, John Swannell and Bob Carlos Clarke to name a few.
My association with Nikon UK has been pivotal in my career and I am so grateful for their ongoing support. Nikon asked me to become their first ambassador for wedding photography and I continue to work with them to provide documentary street training workshops in London and around the world. Having Nikon UK as a brand behind you is incredibly powerful and allows me the opportunity to represent them at professional exhibitions and network with key supplier and photography media.
Following my ambassadorship with Nikon, I have been asked to develop relationships with other national companies, including Loxley Colour and Smugmug.
It is important not to believe your own hype and instead recognise the people and places that support you. I am so proud of my long-term relationships with some of the countries most prestigious venues, The Langham, Danesfield House, Cliveden House, The Savoy, I am always really excited when I photograph a wedding at one of these stunning venues.
Over the last few years my reputation has enabled me to develop some important links with charities, including Barnado’s, The Hope Foundation, The Alzheimer’s Society and Carer’s UK. For me it is incredibly humbling to be asked to work with these amazing charities and it has become an important part of my photographic portfolio. Two highlights of my career to date have been holding exhibitions to raise funds and awareness for the work of Hope and Alzheimer’s.
Wedding photography remains the main part of my business, but developing world wide photography training workshops has become something I am really passionate about developing.
How did you come to specialise in your chosen area of photography?
This is an interesting question for me as I see it having two possible answers; the area that people automatically know me for is wedding photography, but for me what I ‘specialise’ in is observational documentary photography.
In 2016 I was very honored to receive the first double fellowship for documentary photography from the SWPP and The Guild of Photographers, one for my wedding portfolio and one for my very personal work on Alzheimer’s, recording my father’s last eighteen months of life following his diagnosis.
My photography is all about people, not formal portraits, but contextual natural story telling. It’s not that I do not appreciate landscapes and architecture, but for me, I am always looking for people to hold a photograph together. Weddings are all about people and emotions, the bride and groom, their relationship, and the interaction of them and their guests, it’s the perfect event for documentary photography. In the same way, my street photography is about people going about their everyday lives, interacting with their environment and other people. I guess people just fascinate me and I want to capture their unique stories. Burk Uzzle, American documentary photographer, said ‘Photography is a love affair with life.’
The defining moment for the development of my photographic style was ten years ago, when I attended a foundation workshop in Texas. This was a full on, in your face assault, which I would liken only to having a critique by Gordon Ramsey or Simon Cowell, they yell it at you, exactly how it is, with every possible expletive thrown in, leaving you with no question that your images do not make the grade. It’s hard, and I admit I nearly quit, but wow, what an experience and I learnt so much from the Pulitzer Prize winning photographers that ran the course. I returned with renewed focus about how I wanted to capture my images and what I wanted to show in my photography.
Since then my style has become stronger and more defined, my images becoming instantly recognisable, whether they are wedding or street. It is about how I take them - constructing the image in front of the camera, the storytelling that is created within each image, and the editing.
What do you want to do with your photography? What motivates you economically, politically, intellectually or emotionally?
Because my photography revolves around people and emotions it is about connecting with the audience, creating an opportunity to share an experience, a feeling or situation. So, you could define my motivation as a deliberate act to evoke an emotional response, I want to engage people in a discussion.
I am always looking for people to hold a photograph together.
For my wedding clients, it is quite simple, I want them to have an album of beautiful photographs that tell the story of their special day and is all about making wonderful memories.
I have no great political voice or economic drive for my work. If my business ended tomorrow, (I am of course, hoping it does not), I would still continue to take photographs. However, if my images can raise awareness and get people talking I want to capitalize on that. The personal feedback I had from my exhibitions in Milan and London for Alzheimer’s was incredibly humbling and proved how powerful the photographs could be in raising the subject of dementia and its impact on patients and their carers. Again, with my work with Hope, it’s great to know that people have been inspired to make a donation or sponsor a child after seeing my photographs from Kolkata. ‘Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness’ W Eugine Smith.
Emotionally, with my personal projects and street photography, I follow people and events that interest me, such as my father’s diagnosis and my ongoing project recording Speaker’s Corner, in Hyde Park, London. They ultimately form a series of images that together create a narrative that I want to share with other people, this could be through my website and social media, but also as part of exhibitions and books.
Which photographers influenced you? How did they influence your thinking, photography and career path?
I have many photographic heroes from the documentary genre, of course the ultimate being Henri Cartier Bresson, the master of ‘the decisive moment’. Like Bresson some of my documentary photography is about looking for an interesting scenario, then wait for that key character to enter the scene.
Alex Webb has an incredible sense of colour, which forms a key element of his documentary work; this is definitely something that I have become more aware of in my own work, especially in my travel photography.
Story telling is an important part of my photography and photographers like Larry Towell have been a great source of inspiration.
Alex Mijoli, the Italian Magnum photographer based in Amsterdam, talks about photography being an attitude and the events and subjects he photographs being with them, and once you have acknowledged your subject they tend to quickly return to their business and ignore you.
For me amazing documentary photography is about the impact of the image, not the technical skills of the photographer. Documentary photography
for me is like the difference between a live band jamming on stage, lost in the moment, connecting with their audience, complete with highlights and mistakes, it has a vibe that you get caught up in, in comparison to a studio recording of an orchestra, every instrument perfectly tuned and in sync with each other, clean, precise and technically pure but for me there is something missing.
Working alongside my contemporaries has influenced my photography, particularly with ‘micro composition’ and looking for the ‘unusual in the usual’, and are now areas I try and develop with photographers that attend my courses. Elliott Erwitt, known for decisive moments even before it became linked to Bresson, is quoted as saying ‘To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them’ I think that really sums up how I approach my documentary street photography.
Is there something you always ask yourself / think before you push the button?
Photography for me is instinctive; I do not spend time checking and resetting my camera. When I enter a space, I check my exposure, and then I will move back/forward one or two stops as I need to. Photographers always ask me about the settings I used on an image, I know my camera really well and so it just becomes automatic.
Anticipation is key, getting into the right position, looking for frames and being ready for that moment are all things that I am considering as I enter a scenario to photograph.
What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered and how have you overcome them?
The two challenges that photographers always ask me about in relation to documentary street photography is; ‘what do you do if someone doesn’t want to be photographed?’, ‘how do you get so close?’
The first is simple, as I approach a scene/someone that I think is interesting to photograph, I make eye contact, acknowledge I’m there, and if the person indicates that they do not want me to photograph them I walk on, there are many more opportunities ahead. Mostly people are happy and after a few minutes they forget I’m even there and carry on with what they are doing, which is when I can really get some great candid documentary shots and work the scene.
The second is the first thing I work on with photographers that attend my courses, using prime lenses mean they must stay close to the action to get the shots, and within a day I always observe a real change in their confidence with getting up close,
Get to know your camera, it should be an extension of you.
as photographer Robert Capa said ‘If you’re photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.’
When it comes to documentary wedding photography, I would argue that it is the hardest genre of wedding photography because you cannot rely on
a series of posed images throughout the day, instead you should be constantly working, moving, watching and anticipating, so that you are able to capture the whole story of the day with every special moment and emotion, naturally, and that is definitely a challenge.
What piece of tech/software/camera equipment couldn’t you do without?
Anyone that knows me, knows I have the photographer condition of ‘GAS’ – gear addiction syndrome! I have a lot of kit!
But in terms of my work kit its actually pretty simple. I am a Nikon photographer, and the camera that I use all the time for my weddings and my street work is the D4S, it’s a real work horse, on a wedding I will take two bodies. For lenses, I use prime 85mm, 50mm and 25mm.
Manfrotto led lights and soft boxes are great for working with ambient lighting at weddings, and I am really pleased to be associated with this great company.
For my work flow I have three key programs; Photomechanic for uploading and culling images (there can be 3000 on a wedding shoot), Adobe Lightroom to edit and SilverEfex for converting Images to black and white.The first is simple, as I approach a scene/someone that I think is interesting to photograph, I make eye contact, acknowledge I’m there, and if the person indicates that they do not want me to photograph them I walk on, there are many more opportunities ahead. Mostly people are happy and after a few minutes they forget I’m even there and carry on with what they are doing, which is when I can really get some great candid documentary shots and work the scene.
The second is the first thing I work on with photographers that attend my courses, using prime lenses mean they must stay close to the action to get the shots, and within a day I always observe a real change in their confidence with getting up close, as photographer Robert Capa said ‘If you’re photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.’
When it comes to documentary wedding photography, I would argue that it is the hardest genre of wedding photography because you cannot rely on a series of posed images throughout the day, instead you should be constantly working, moving, watching and anticipating, so that you are able to capture the whole story of the day with every special moment and emotion, naturally, and that is definitely a challenge.
Can you work us through the process you use when you set up a shoot?
Once I find a scenario that has captured my interest I may stay with it for fifteen to thirty minutes, moving the camera maybe only a fraction, micro-composing the image I see through the camera, or physically change angle or position within that space. I may wait for the right combination of elements, such as a group of people, or colours of clothing. Patience and being able to visually anticipate the image I key, but there is an element of luck.
What tips would you give to a beginner photographer?
The most important is to get out there and start shooting, and then keep shooting. As Cartier Bresson said ‘Your first 10,000 photos are your worst.’
Get to know your camera, it should be an extension of you. Focus on what you are taking and don’t keep stopping to check settings and looking at the back screen – you’ll miss that incredible shot if you do.
Don’t buy lots of kit, get your camera and 2-3 prime lenses, and learn to use your feet as zoom.
What is your favorite photograph that you have ever taken?
That’s a really tough question, it’s usually an image from a recent shoot that I get really excited about, so it is constantly changing.
One of my wedding images that I think is really iconic in terms of what I do as a wedding photographer is of a bride and groom just as they are pronounced husband and wife, the expression on the bride’s face is incredible, and as the two of them hold hands and look at each other their body-shapes form a heart. The background of the guests puts it into context of the wedding service. Many brides see this photo and say this is the image they want, but it was a one in a million moment.
From my documentary street portfolio, it would be my image entitled ‘Read it in the news’ taken in Kolkata, I love the layering and combination of colours. I have revisited the same temple and never got another shot exactly like it.
I am not known for my portrait work, and over the last few years I have not done many portrait or fine art model shoots, but I am so proud to have my portrait of Jimmy Choo, shoe designer, held in the National Portrait Archives in London.
To see more of Marks work visit www.markseymourphotography.co.uk
Also see Mark in action on a real wedding live now on The Photographer Academy
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