marc hayden 28
Hi Marc and welcome to <strong>Photo</strong> <strong>Live</strong>, how would you describe yourself as a photographer? What do you specialise in? Hi! Thanks for having me :) I tend to favour portraiture and fashion for personal work, and there is a strong beauty theme to my image-making. Im doing a lot more lifestyle work these days, and I really enjoy documentary-style work, too. I think every photographer has a story about how they got started, what’s yours? Well, I actually went to art school and painted at school. I always had a passion for art, but I painted up until university, and thats where I started using Apple Macs. I didn’t touch a camera until many years later, and it was actually the iPhone that got me into photography. <strong>Photo</strong>graphy was a real luxury hobby and career before digital photography and the internet really took off, but I knew Id always love image-taking….I just knew. I was working for Apple’s ad agency for a few years and realised I wasn’t being creative, so I decided to change careers! Looking at your photography, eyes are important to you aren’t they? But when you capture them, they seem to pierce you as the viewer… Yeah, I can’t get away from eyes. For lifestyle, they aren’t the focus, but for beauty, I love them. I see a lot of stuff on social media, and its just naked girls. Don’t get me wrong, the female body is wonderful, but bum shots are kinda…. boring. Everyone has a butt. And many look the same haha. Eyes, though….theyare unique, and they say everything. I also want people to appreciate the image, not just the flesh. Talk to us about your editorial work. Are you doing fashion magazines and, I’ve been told, that that type of shoot can be more for the love and exposure as they pay minimal rates…? I test a lot, because I enjoy it, and working with stylists is great. But Im not submitting anymore. If a quality fashion mag commissions me, 100% I’m there, because Im an artist, and I love to create. If you’re doing Wonderland, Love, or Vogue….those kind of mags, then the exposure is good. Its definitely a labour of love. You also do Commissions, can you tell us about that? Sure! I do a fair amount of corporate work, and fashion commissions are great. Being a full time freelancer really is full time. Im terrible at stopping, but I have a family, so I want to make time for them. My social life is pretty much non-existent, but its the path I chose. I want to create, and I want to support my family….commissions help me do that. I have done cool lookbooks for a variety of brands, and Im always looking to do more. You’re recent personal work is powerful, what’s inspired that look? Just me. And that is really important. I remember starting out and panicking about having a style. Id look a other artists and worry. But the moment I stopped worrying, and just did what came naturally, thats when my work came into its own. Obviously I take in outside influence all the time, but the way I frame, the poses, etc….thats just what I like. Who inspires you? I like fine art. I know more about fine art than I do photography, so Id say Cubism, Pop Art, music, graphic art. Basquiat, Picasso, Haring, Mondrian - these guys were visionaries. What do you see for photography in the next 5 years, as in the tech and perhaps the way we appreciate the art? Great question, and I do wonder how the availability of kit will affect the quality of the work, in both positive and negative ways. But, at the end of the day, you can’t buy artistic talent, so Im not phased by that. Its like when music production was suddenly available to every bedroom producer….there is just more noise. The quality always shines through. Marc - thanks for being in <strong>Photo</strong> <strong>Live</strong> <strong>Issue</strong> 2, where can readers go to find out more about you? Thanks for having me! My instagram @_marchayden and my website marchayden.co.uk are great places to keep up with my work. Im also on twitter @_marchayden, and on Facebook (marchaydenphoto). If your readers have any questions they can also drop me an email at marc@marchayden.co.uk. 29