Mark Mann
Born in Glasgow and now living in New York, Mark Mann is a renowned portrait photographer with an incredible portfolio of celebrity portraits. Shooting famous figures such as former President Clinton, Rihanna and Willie Nelson, and for brands such as Reebok, Pepsi and Ford, Mark regularly shoots both stills and video at film festivals including Tribeca Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.
Tell us about one of your favourite projects that you’ve worked on.
One of the best projects I’ve been involved with was for Esquire’s 80th birthday where we photographed 80 prominent American men from past presidents, sitting presidents – including Obama – and also writers, sportspeople and actors. That was an entire year of my life, but a pretty great project!
How does shooting at a film festival differ from a regular shoot?
There’s just such a quick turnover of people – we have to move very fast in a small studio and I only have minutes to establish a relationship with my subjects to make them feel at ease with me. There’s a lot of different faces, skin tones and ages; one set up won’t work for everyone. I need to be able to adjust my setup quickly, so I can capture the interesting features of my subject’s face, and that’s different on everyone.
Which Rotolight product do you use the most in your work?
Definitely the Anova PRO 2. I’m working in a studio most of the time and will usually take three or four of them with me wherever I’m shooting. I travel a lot, and they’ve not let me down. I mount two of them together on a double yoke which is great for full body portaits. The lights look so different and unique, they also serve as a great conversation starter with my subjects too.
