Mark Nixon in the Press
- Rangefinder Magazine, USA
- Practical Photography Magazine, UK
- Weddings on Line Article
- British Journal of Photography
- Ireland On Sunday
Rangefinder Magazine, USA
Profile-Mark Nixon: The luck of the Irish favors this Dublin-based portrait and wedding specialist
The next time you contemplate how tough life as a professional photographer can get, take solace in the fact that it’s much tougher trying to make it in the music business. Just ask Irish photographer Mark Nixon whose flourishing business in Dublin, The Portrait Studio, is a daily reminder to him that no matter how hard the going may get in the wedding/portrait business, it’s a walk in the park compared with the many years he toiled as a musician. And if you’ve seen the delightful film The Commitments, about an Irish band that came unraveled when on the verge of possibly succeeding, you’ve witnessed a slice of life not too far removed from Nixon’s own 15 years trying to make it in the music industry. He sang, played guitar and keyboards, wrote songs, performed solo and with bands he put together (Jim Corr of the now famous The Corrs was in one of those groups) and gave it a pretty decent shot before pulling the plug. Overall it was an artistic, creative and emotional roller coaster but like many of life’s experiences stood him in good stead when he found his calling as a photographer. "In music you use both sides of the brain for technical skill and creativity and it’s much the same in photography, so my musical background was valuable in that respect. I laugh when photographers complain about how tough the photography business is, because it is so much easier, compared to the music industry" he said. "You could spend a year working on a song and never really know if it was any good or not because you are too close to it and invested so much time and emotion into writing it. All your friends would tell you it was great, but that didn’t mean anything. With photography, it’s either good or bad, it’s obvious to everyone. If it’s a good shot, you say ‘that’s a good shot’ then you move on to the next. If it’s not so great, move on to the next one. I really struggled being a singer/songwriter, whereas photography has come very easily to me. I started getting work as soon as I bought my first camera," he added. As a self-taught photographer who candidly admits he is not too conversant with some of the terminology of lighting technique ("I don’t even know what loop lighting means!") Nixon espouses a philosophy that might not sit too well with academically-oriented colleagues-he loathed school and the classroom environment. But he is not afraid of practical education and thrives by the same creed on which the renowned Brooks Institute of Photography in California was founded by Ernest H. Brooks 60 years ago-Learn by doing. "I read books, went to lectures given by photographers at the Dublin Camera Club and picked their brains afterwards. I would figure out how to do something, even while on the job, by just doing it. I always take chances and they usually work. So my advice (to aspiring photographers) would be not to waste years going to college, but to just do it," he said.
And "just doing it" for Mark Nixon has been full-on. In his eight years as a professional photographer he has not only created a market for his photojournalistic style of wedding photography but also made his mark as a fashion and editorial shooter. And, indicative of his versatility, his portrait of a friend’s dog won a gold medal at WPPI, 2005. Nixon said that although he enjoys the challenge of photographing animals, it’s not something he does often. Where he does excel, however, is in his photojournalistic style of wedding photography and he says, tongue firmly in cheek, that he "invented wedding photojournalism", qualifying that by pointing out that when he started wedding photography in 1995, no one else was shooting that style in Ireland. "I used to go out on Saturdays with a wedding photographer who taught me how to do the usual set up shots and also a lot about the business of photography, charging appropriately and other aspects of the business. So, when I started, I did all the traditional shots with a medium format camera on the tripod. But I always carried a 35mm camera loaded with black and white film and would take a few rolls with that too. After the couples saw the black and white shots they all said, without exception, that they wished they had asked me to take more like that," he said. "So I took out a full page black and white ad in a wedding magazine and the moment it appeared on the bookshelves, my phone started ringing. Within a year, I was shooting 75 weddings a year and printing all the black and white images by hand in my darkroom," he said. To a large extent, Nixon’s black and white imagery is a reflection of New York 50 years ago. "Irving Penn is my favorite photographer and I am sure he has influenced my work. To me, photography is New York in the 1950s in B&W and Irving Penn is it. I also like Albert Watson (whom I met and photographed recently, a lovely, gentle man) Richard Avedon, Sally Mann, Joel Peter Witkin, Matt Mahern and lots of others. There wouldn’t be one particular wedding photographer who has influenced me, but every time you see a shot you really like, I think part of that stays with you and comes out in your own work," he said. And while Nixon admits to not being familiar with the terminology of technical lighting, he is fluent in the language of natural light. "I understand light and look for it everywhere. I always challenge myself not to use flash while photographing a wedding, if at all possible. You just need to see the beautiful light, which sounds obvious, but you really have to look for it. Too many photographers rely on artificial light, which can make you lazy and really doesn’t look very good. I study photographs in magazines and try to figure out how they are lit. If you look into the eyes of the model, you can see where the lights are, or if it was shot with ring flash or with window light or some other source. Seeing and using light effectively is the most important thing in photography, and yet it is the least understood," he said. As with most other photographers, Nixon loves soft, warm, flattering light such as that found late in the afternoon, in open shade, and from window lighting. "I love using natural light in situations where other photographers would get the flash out-in church for example. I will use a tripod, long exposures, high ISOs- anything but use the flash. I used to use a reflector but rarely do now. The beautiful light is there somewhere and it’s up to me to find it," he said.
There’s a very good reason Ireland is so green-rain, lots of it. For Mark Nixon it’s a fact of life and, as a wedding photojournalist, all part of the story. "I’ll get lots of shots of umbrellas and people running or huddling in doorways. I don’t mind getting wet myself and will stand in the rain shooting into a covered area if I have to," he said. As most wedding and people photographers will agree, people skills and being part court jester go a long way to getting the most from a wedding group. And in that regard Mark Nixon has an ancestral advantage-the Irish are renowned for their sense of humor and a touch of Blarney never goes astray. "I become this character at a wedding and can get on with anyone-make the right kinds of jokes for the type of people. I used to work in pubs when I was still at school-I started at 13, believe it or not-and you learn all about people and how to handle them working in pubs and restaurants. What it really is, is me at all times trying to do the very best I can, working quickly, using natural light, joking around, putting people at ease and trying to photograph what I see in the most natural way possible," he said. That same calm approach comes in handy when making portraits of children. "Kids have taught me how to shoot them. I had virtually no experience of shooting kids before I opened the studio. It has to be fun, quick, interesting. It’s the parents who cause the problems, not the kids. You can spot them a mile away-they come in all flustered, telling the kids to stop doing this or that and giving a list of shots they want, which includes lots of changes of clothes and things like that. And of course the kids are having none of it. You can’t have any preconceptions as to what you want to happen, you just go with the kids, they will give you everything, if you can only see it and go there with them," he said.
Being in proximity to two large centers of photographic creativity-the United Kingdom and Europe-means that Nixon is exposed to a smorgasbord of styles and attitudes. And even with the globalization of photography, the lines have not been blurred sufficiently to disguise the differences. "I think there is a difference in styles, attitudes (between countries) and in what I think it really boils down to-taste. The UK and Ireland would be similar, but the European countries are different again, they go for some strange stuff! The USA has a certain style all of its own, but to me, at the end of the day there are only two kinds of photography, good and bad," As well as his wedding and portrait business in Ireland, Nixon travels fairly extensively both on the photography lecture circuit and shooting weddings. To date his work has taken him to places such as New York, San Francisco, Santorini in Greece, Italy, France, Norway and England. "The Internet could have been invented for photographers, it’s fantastic. I get enquiries from all over the world and sometimes they translates into bookings," he said. One wedding in New York coincided with a particularly memorable date-September 11, 2001. "I flew in on September 10-the wedding was on the 16th- and next morning was a beautiful sunny day. Well, we all know what happened," he said. An exhibition from some of the images he took that fateful day, can still be viewed on Nixon’s website.
On a recent trip to Australia (organized by Dave Cimino, Albums Australia), apart from comparing Irish brews with beers of Down Under, Nixon benefited from visiting 13 of the top wedding and portrait studios in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. The one thing they had in common was outstanding presentation. "Whether in the studio design itself, the albums, the proofs-even the coffee-presentation was the key thing. I came back and bought a cappuccino machine. Why offer your clients instant coffee, when you can offer them cappuccino?" he said. Attending WPPI in 2003 convinced him to go all digital. Up to that point he had been shooting negative film and, having given up the darkroom, was scanning all his black and white images. An initial foray into digital with a Canon D30 was not encouraging-"I didn’t know how to handle digital files and couldn’t get the results I wanted"-but when he saw the prints in albums at WPPI 2003, it was a revelation. "As soon as I got back to Ireland I blew the cobwebs off the D30 and did a test shoot. After working nearly a day on one image, I got the results I wanted," said Nixon. He then bought two Canon 1Ds bodies to complement his supply of Canon lenses and other gear and more recently invested in the Mark 2 version and upgraded to Photoshop CS2. After years of having one range of equipment for studio work and another for location assignments, Nixon wanted one system that would handle all environments-the Canon 1Ds MK11 does that admirably. In a relatively short time, Mark Nixon’s career has taken off very well indeed. The Portrait Studio has a staff of four including Mark himself, and the future looks bright. Knowing that the good photographer will always have work and clients willing to pay for it, Nixon strives to be the best and go the extra mile to give clients more than they expected. "For a photographer doing average work, it must be very hard to set yourself apart from the herd. If discounts and special offers are the only reason someone would pick them over another photographer it must be very difficult. The answer is to be true to yourself and do what you think is good not what the latest style is or what the photographer around the corner is doing. Classic images never go out of style. If they’re good, they will stand the test of time and so will the photographer," he said.
Practical Photography Magazine, UK - Make a Wedding Day last forever
Black & White wedding photography is apparently making a comeback. Why resuscitate an old technology? Well, for a start it’s actually new technology...
Even for the most wild at heart there comes a time to settle down. For many this means marriage, but marriage is rarely a private affair. Quite the opposite. It’s a public declaration that involves not just two people, or two families, but sometimes an entire community and like most major events it’s definitely worth photographing. The question is how.
Black & white wedding photographs probably peeked in the ‘50s, but it is back in vogue 50 years later with thanks, in part, to digital photography. These days the results are somewhat different though. You can forget all about the staid, rigid shots of families lined up against a church wall.
Photographers are now shooting fast and loose - freed as they are from the expense of film - and so a new style has emerged, one that was previously reserved for photo-journalists. It’s a style that requires patience, as well as speed to freeze that telling moment, so the final images tell a story of the whole day. No surprise then that a leading exponent of documentary wedding photography is a natural storyteller himself, Belfast-born but Dublin-based, Mark Nixon.
"For me photography has always been black & white. The ultimate in photography for me is ‘50s New York in black & white. So when I started doing weddings in 1995 I always had 35mm black & white with me. People would hire me to do the normal-for-the-time posed shots, but I’d always have the black & white, 35mm with me and I’d take two or three rolls of that. They would always say ‘I wish we’d asked you to do more of that kind of stuff ’. So I decided that from then on that was how I was going to market myself, because no one else was doing it at the time."
Strange that a 150-year-old technology should make a resurgence among the mainstream now. Why are young couples hankering after that pared-down look, hungry for images devoid of colour? Is choosing black & white a final rebellion against your parents, or an acknowledgement that your parents got it right on their day? Mark has his own theories. "People of a certain age and generation don’t want black & white because when they got married they had little choice. Colour came later. But the generation getting married now has grown up with colour, so black & white is seen as different. And it’s not nostalgia. To younger people black &white is new."
So mono is the new colour? Surely there is more to it than that. On such a stressful day, perhaps knowing that the photography will flatter, come what may, is a relief. "Everybody looks good in black &white," says Mark. "If you take away the distraction of colour, you’re not worried about a red, blotchy face, or if the instant tan didn’t come out right. You’re just left with the emotion and the tones."
Black & white is also sympathetic to the weather. Blue skies and fluffy clouds are not essential. An overcast day can add some welcome midtones to an image of the bride and groom dressed in black & white. Even a rainy day, with a splash of imagination and good timing, can add drama and action to the day’s photographs.
Maybe it’s simpler than all of that. A wedding is a day that couples want to last forever. The whole purpose of the photograph is to help them to do that. To record a wedding is to freeze it in time and keep it fresh forever, and mono images, stripped of superfluous information, can do this better than colour. Black & white photography is simply more practical when it comes to marking time.
For an older generation of photographer the shoot was much the same from one wedding to the next and the resulting images often seemed formulaic, the set shots defining the photographer’s day. Tradition dictated the order of proceedings, not just for the wedding service, but for the range of shots that were expected from the photographer. Times have changed though. Weddings have become more informal so why shouldn’t the photographs?
A documentary style results in pictures that guests would dream of taking themselves - candid and personal. Unfortunately there are few guests that have the photographic skills for reportage and this is where Mark comes in. "I imagine I am taking the photos for the couples friends who weren’t at the wedding. I imagine the newlyweds showing friends their wedding day unfolding, so I’m trying to tell the whole story and catch things as they happen. Even now, every wedding is still completely different because I’m not trying to do set-ups the whole time."
Now that Mark shoots in digital the restraints are off and he shoots up to 1000 images for a wedding. Those are then edited down to about 250 to show the couple. About half of those could be black & white, but colour still plays a big part in the process. "Now that I’ve gone digital it’s all shot in colour. I shoot everything in RAW and convert to black & white the ones I planned earlier. I’m also getting much better quality with digital. The Canon EOS-1Ds I use doesn’t have mono mode, but even if it did I wouldn’t use it anyway because there is more information in colour. There’s a number of ways to then convert to black & white. Even when I’m shooting I make a mental note if the shot should be black & white. I’ve got that experience behind me from the days of carrying two cameras around with me." It’s not just shooting 35mm that’s history for Mark. As a professional photographer he always developed, printed and toned images himself. However, his days of smelly chemicals and lost hours in the darkroom are now over. "It’s all gone, and I’m glad it’s all gone. Just being in the dark and hand-toning everything, and you’re just about to finish when you see a scratch on the print. Aaagh! Back in to do the whole thing over again! It’s a lonely business in the darkroom."
Weddings on Line Article: Snap Happy by Ciara Elliott.
Mark Nixon's career reads like something you might find written about in a "You can do it too!" five-steps-to-success article in a woman's magazine. He started out in photography just five years ago. In that time he has won the Kodak Portrait & Wedding Photographer of the Year award three times and has shot covers for many of the best known Irish fashion magazines. Now one of the most popular wedding photographers in the country, Mark has a diary that gets bookings months and sometimes years in advance.
Best known for bringing the photojournalism style to weddings, we caught a few moments with Mark, to talk about his work and experiences.
Was photography your first love?
"I always loved taking pictures but my passion starting out was for music. Before I ever picked up a professional camera, I spent fifteen years as a musician - first in Los Angeles and then in Belfast, where I am originally from. But after a while of sitting in a bedsit trying to come up with songs I decided I needed to do something else. When I moved to Dublin I bought a camera, joined the Dublin Camera Club and decided I wanted to get into photography."
How did you get into specialising in weddings?
"My first photo job was with Poolbeg Press, a book publisher in Dublin. A friend of mine told me they needed someone to do a few of their book covers so I went to see them and, luckily for me, got the job. After that I was asked to do my girlfriend's sister's wedding and I suppose that was where it really all began. I then spent two years with another wedding photographer , probably going to about 200 weddings during that time. Since then I have done about 150 weddings on my own."
How would you describe your style?"I am an "access all areas" photographer. When people hire me for their wedding they know that what they will get is a story of their day. My shots are not all posed in a conventional way (although of course, I will do that as well) and I like to work quickly and efficiently. What I really I pride myself on is being able to tell a story with my photography."
What do you like about photographing weddings?
"For a start weddings are great because everyone is always in great form. I'm always surprised, actually, that on the day the couple is not more nervous. The people I work for are prepared for me to do the fly-on the wall stuff, to be there in the background at all times. I tell people that it doesn't matter if it rains on the day, as it actually usually means I will get good pictures of people running under showers and sheltering under brollies. Whatever happens, I love to be involved in it all and capture the details."
What's a typical working day?
"When I'm working on a wedding I really like to get there early. My day will usually start where the bride is getting ready. I take shots of her getting her hair and make-up done, and putting the final touches to herself. That is the best time to get the shot of the dress, in fact. I do it before she goes to the ceremony. I then take photos of the ceremony, before, during and after, and of friends and family arriving. I do the classic family shots just before the reception. After that I will go to the beginnings of the dinner, but usually leave before the speeches or dancing begins. Although I do sometimes stay for that too. It's a long old day but I have to say I love it."
A few tips from Mark for getting the right wedding shots:
- 1. The photographer.
Make sure you pick a photographer you can trust because he will make or break the whole day. It is very important to shop around and find one that suits your style. Mark suggests going to see at least three. - 2. On the day.
Make sure to tell ALL your family in advance that they will be needed for photographs otherwise they'll go off to the pub. Also don't let the photographer drag you off to be photographed for three hours, as you will miss much of the day (and remember it is your day.) - 3. When getting photographed.
Relax and wait for the very last second to smile. You'll be smiling a lot on the day, and the muscles of your face will get very sore otherwise. If you wear glasses change the lenses to non reflective glass so you can see your eyes in the photographs. - 4. Planning in advance
Don't forget to enlist the support of the best man and your bridesmaids to help rounding up family and friends for photographs on the day. Make sure that they are aware that this is part of their duties.
British Journal of Photography : August 2000 : Web Hits
Mark Nixon is a Belfast born photographer who shoots weddings, portraits, fashion and other general commercial work.He has also won all categories in the Kodak Wedding and Portrait Awards for the last four years running, and his website, which is primarily designed to promote his wedding business, doesn't miss the opportunity of mentioning this.
Nixon is making the most of the global reach of the internet to exploit the fact that there are many ex-pat irish people who return home each year to get married. Although the site is only a couple of months old, he has already secured bookings from USA, Australia, France, Scotland , Spain and elsewhere besides.
Like many of the sites that we have seen and liked, the design is clean and simple, with plenty of sections and sub-sections for visitors to dip into. Although principally intended to boost his wedding bookings, the site includes Nixon's excellent fashion work too, as he believes clients like the idea of having a fashion photographer shoot their wedding. Different styles - b+w, colour and reportage are covered separately, and the whole is designed to give visitors enough insight into the photographer's work to feel able to book with confidence without having to meet the guy ahead of the wedding. (useful if you live in another country) This is a logically constructed site with a clear purpose that seems to be doing very nicely thank you.
Ireland On Sunday Sept 10th 2000 : Irishbytes, What’s worth checking out on the web - by Jacqueline Sheils
Sometimes it can be hard not to laugh at family portraits. There’s mother and father all decked out in the new suits they got for their son’s confirmation, the teenage daughter sulking because she was forced to remove her nose ring and baby experiencing its first day without its nappy.
Mark Nixon offers an alternative to the traditional and often very boring photos adorning walls all over the country. This talented photographer might just save us all from ourselves, and those awful family portraits.