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Editor's note: This excerpt first appeared in photographer and author Harold Davis' recent Focal Press book, Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Photography with Harold Davis.
The closer you...
Marcus Bell is a Triple Master of Photography (Awarded by Australian Institute of Professional Photography, AIPP. ) and Creative Director and Principal Photographer of Australia’s number one photography studio “Studio Impressions”. Marcus has been named in the top 10 Wedding photographers in the world by BBC Television, is the author of “Master’s Guide to Wedding Photography” published by Amherst Media NY in 2006 and is currently in the top ten photography best seller list. Marcus’ images have been published in more than 30 books in 50 countries, and he has been featured in three photography documentaries, as well as many magazine front covers.
Marcus Bell
Marcus was the keynote speaker at WPPI annual convention that attracts over 10,000 attendees in April 2006 and 2007 and then again in 2009 received a standing ovation from his keynote talk in Las Vegas, USA. He has conducted seminars and workshops in the USA, Japan, Canada, England, France, Brazil, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand and is recognized around the world as an authority on Photography, digital workflow development and Master printing techniques. In 2006 Marcus was invited to be a part of both the prestigious Adobe Ambassador team, one of only three in Australia and as an Epson Ambassador. In 2009 joined the Nikon Ambassador team at its inception of the program. Over the past 10 years Marcus has continuously been awarded the highest accolades in the industry both nationally and internationally. Showing his ability to constantly reach new levels year to year and to continue to be at the forefront of his craft.
I had the pleasure of attending Marcus’ lecture at WPPI 2010 in Las Vegas, where he gave a very moving presentation of a wide range of his work—from wedding photography to documentary. I looked further into his work, and then many months later invited him to do an interview for photo.net, to share some of his insight and inspiration with us. Thanks Marcus!
Marcus Bell’s Real Life Wedding Moment Contest: We hosted a wedding photography contest judged by Marcus Bell. It ran from October 18 through November 1, 2010. The winner received the Marcus Bell Master Collection effects and actions (value: $695USD).
I’m inspired by real-life events, especially on a wedding day. I might see something and there will be two reasons why: it’s beautiful scene, and I can relate to the moment personally in some way. It’s an extension of who I am to be able to identify those special moments. The couple may not even realize till later when they see the photos what moments were captured. My style is about capturing the real life of people and settings. It’s very reality-driven. I love capturing the beauty in life. A lot of photographers in Australia don’t really photograph the reception of the wedding. For me, that’s when so many of these amazing moments of people sharing their lives quite openly. There’s this flood of information about these people’s lives that I get privileged to witness and I’m able to encapsulate those stories for those clients forever.
Would you say you follow the stories around more so than the light?
The number one priority in any amazing photograph: find that moment first, the impact. Once you have that, then you can look at light, composition and all the other things. You can have the most beautifully lit image but if it doesn’t have any soul, no impact, you won’t retain the viewer to look at it. The moment transforms everything else. Of course, if you have poor photography skills—it’s going to show. There are rules to it, but for me, the impact is first.
You seem to utilize soft focusing to draw attention to a certain part of the image—is that something you’ve developed as part of your style?
One of the things that hit me early on, you have to know as a photographer what you want to say—too many photographers don’t have anything to say. That’s always stayed with me. Whenever I’m taking an image, I’m thinking about the tools that will help me to communicate the message. Considering those areas of focus and out of focus and the area within the frame help with the composition. I’ve always been one to use very large apertures, f/1.4, f/2, and shoot wide open a lot. In the past 2-3 years, I’ve been extending that vision through tilt-shift lenses, throwing areas of the frame out of focus.
Marcus Bell
When I first started with photography, I was so attracted to black and white because it disguised all the info that we don’t need in the image and made a beautiful image more simple. Through understanding and learning a lot more about art and what painters do, I also think more about producing a work of art. It’s important to understand the tools. As photographers, we can be limited because we look at the back of the camera and we feel like we have to take that as gospel, whereas a painter starts with a blank canvas and then actually makes decisive decisions on space usage, color, elements to include, and so forth to really communicate. There are so many complexities and processes to make a painting really simple. Some people look at a simple image and think it’s amazing. They think it’s easy to create. Simple images are probably the most difficult to create.
Preparing for a wedding, do you see it as a blank canvas, where settings will work best. How do you start to paint your canvas when preparing for a wedding?
I see myself on a wedding day as two photographers. One is a documentary photographer who is very much like Jeff Ascough. The other is as a portrait photographer, quite documentary in style, I guess you could say documentary portraiture. I will see a scene and know where to place the subjects in the scene. I don’t want to give them too much structure and want to allow them to be themselves. I want to make sure the light is beautiful, the composition is perfect as I still have a lot of hand in it. When I capture the moment, I allow them to be themselves, to be relaxed, be within their own conversation.
As far as how I prepare myself, hours before the wedding or a day before, I’ll go to the location I’ll be shooting and look for scenes that could stand out and act as amazing backdrops. I mentally prepare my mind for all the opportunities that may come my way, all the possible events that will happen. I might take actual photographs and then put together little diagrams of where the people should be using different lighting. I do prep a lot before the wedding to make sure I will be capturing the event perfectly.
Marcus Bell
Have you ever had a wedding where you absolutely did not like the setting and had to work really hard to find good backdrops?
Interesting question. As a wedding photographer you don’t get a choice. I don’t see it as a problem. That’s what makes a great wedding photographer. You have to go in to any environment and make that environment sparkle no matter what—you don’t get a second opportunity. You take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. It’s about what you leave out. Simple lines, simple lighting.
The tools I’ve been training myself in, for the past 12 years or so, I’ve always been known for available light. In the past 8-9 months, I’ve been using more studio lighting on location with combinations of a Profoto B600 batterypack and a couple of speedlights. What I can create with that lighting setup anywhere is pretty remarkable. It’s taken things to a whole new level for me. That’s only maybe 10-15% of the day during the portrait time. Still even during that time, I’ll approach it with a documentary style and capture the moments as they’re happening. I have a concept in mind of creating an image for the wedding couple, bringing in a third element.
The wedding I did in Bali, I had an idea to have the bride on a cliff at sunset with some really dark clouds behind her. I arranged for a lighting assistant to come with me. He’s standing in waist deep water with a Profoto light, lighting the bride on top of the cliff. Now I’m starting to think more artistically and designing an image to provide my client as well. It’s giving me more distinction for my clients.
Not all clients are creative. Not all perform well in front of a camera. How do you manage your clients’ expectations and/or encourage them to think outside the box to work with you?
I only advertise and put images on the web that relate to exactly what I do. When someone contacts me, I’m already perfect for the job. They’ve fallen in love with those images. I can’t get it wrong. I also have a couple of different skill sets for me to cover all my bases. In a hectic environment with not a lot of time, I’m able to resort to my documentary style. In a limited stretch of time, I could capture these most amazing moments. One of the things that photographers around the world contact me and talk to me about, they say that they’re amazed at how I see these moments at every wedding I go to. I’ve had photographers come along with me on a wedding and standing right next to me as these most amazing moments are occurring. Even though they’re witnessing them, they never identify them in the moment to actually capture those moments themselves. They kick themselves later and say “I was standing right beside you and just didn’t see that happen.” It gives me a lot of peace of mind because I know that even in the most strenuous moments at a wedding that I can actually perform at my best and get an array of really wonderful images that are going to connect with the client. That’s I think the most important thing.
When the global financial crisis (GFC) happened about 18 months ago, clients were definitely cutting back on images to include in their albums, but what they were cutting back on were the more structured posed images. When it came to the real moments, because they had an immense connection to those images, they were priceless to them. They would never cut them out of the album. That was a real important understanding for me with my clients. It comes back to those moments I want to capture. I get clients coming in referring to, “Oh, I saw this shot of yours of an old man. I’ve got one grandparent remaining and that’s why I want you to shoot my wedding because I want that relationship captured forever.” Because of my documentary style, I can capture these moments easily so therefore there’s little pressure on me. I can relax and have a great time and really enjoy what I love doing.
Marcus Bell
What is in your photography kit?
2 Nikon D3S
Nikon 24-70/2.8
Nikon 70-200/2.8
Nikon 85/1.4
Nikon 50/1.4G
Nikon 45mm Tilt-shift
up-straps
Epson P7000 card reader
Tamrac card wallet containing about 8 16GB Sandisk Extreme Pro CF cards
Shoot sac for my extra lenses
I also bring some extra lenses as backup:
Nikon 135/2
Nikon 24/1.4G
I always have 2 cameras on me, one hanging on each shoulder, hence using the up-straps.
Always the 24-70 on one body and on the other, will alternate among the 70-200, 85/1.4, 50/1.4 and the 45 tilt-shift lenses. If I had to, I could easily shoot the whole wedding with the 24-70 because I like mingle nice and close to the wedding party. I also love to shoot wide and leave more of what’s happening around me rather than shooting too tight. I prefer to keep everything on me at all times. The extra lenses I keep in Shoot Sacs around my waist. I don’t need a camera bag or an assistant or anyone else around me to handle my gear.
Marcus Bell
Another tip: I reverse my cameras so the lenses stick behind my back with the lenses facing down my legs rather than out. When I’m standing there waiting, it looks like I don’t have any cameras at all on me. I found that looking not like a photographer to capture great moments is really important.
I also have a separate lighting kit. I won’t have it with me at all times. For some weddings, I bring an assistant just for the lighting portion of the shoot.
3 Pocket Wizards
2 SB900s
Profoto B600 battery flash
Softbox (2×3)
Profoto beauty dish
2 Manfrotto Nano Stands (nice and compact stands)
My focus is to use beautiful studio light on location. Even during this portion, I find it important to remain unobtrusive and stay in my available light zone. When the opportunity arises on location with a couple, the clients love seeing studio lighting on location. Rather than having a tiny little softbox and an SB900, what I think I’m better off having is a great big super softbox you would normally use in the studio. Once you have an assistant to help with setup, it doesn’t really make a difference. I’ll use the Profoto beauty dish on location as well, use some diffusers on the SB900s, I also have a fantastic studio 4AMP portable battery pack.
Marcus Bell
What tips can you offer on how you focus and meter?
I used to always shoot in manual, but ever since shooting a project in Brazil with 2 other great photographers, I’ve learned to use Av (aperture priority) mode a lot. I’m using aperture priority mode—zoom lenses at 2.8. Using the Auto ISO setting, I can set my camera up to have a minimum shutter speed I want to work with to make sure that everything’s in focus. Sometimes I want to show movement. I use shutter priority already set up around a 1/15 or 1/20s. For the wedding day, I set it between Av, which I will use most of the day, then I’ll shoot with shutter priority so I can show movement and then I’ll go into manual mode and turn auto ISO off. I customize my camera so I can easily toggle back and forth amongst these 3 modes. I have the EV exposure compensation on as well, so all day I’m continuously adjusting my exposure. If I have a really dark subject against a dark background, I know that I have to underexpose that, bring that down a stop and a half. If I have a bride or a really white subject, I will have to overexpose at least one stop. I’m consistently using that exposure compensation, which on Nikon you have to manually set it up, when I used Canon, on their cameras it’s already set up.
