Hi, I’m Mark Seymour and I consider myself extremely lucky having a lifestyle job that I totally love. I have been taking photographs since I was a toddler and have been a professional photographer for all my adult life.
I started with a box brownie at the age of four, then progressed to a Yashica 124G and discovered my love for black and white film. At the age of seventeen I brandished the latest Pentax 35mm ME Super and started documenting life and all that was around me. And then I discovered wedding photography, which is where I bought my dad’s dream camera, a twin lens rollie flex, a Weston Euromaster light meter and a Metz 45 flash gun, and with those pieces of equipment I went out to conquer the world.
At the age of twenty, I became a professional wedding photographer and formulaic weddings rolled in with standard posed pictures. Although the staged photographs didn’t make for the most exciting of times, these early years did establish my core skills of perspective, lighting and constructing good images. After some years I re-discovered 35mm and armed with a Nikon F5 and a few rolls of Tmax 400 to record the ‘real life’ events and emotions of each wedding I started on my journey to becoming a documentary photographer.
Zoom forward 22 years and I was travelling the world as a documentary wedding photographer and then as a Nikon Ambassador, travelling throughout Asia running small intimate workshop. Most recently I have been a National Geographic photographer going off the beaten track with my camera.
If I had to list a few achievements that I’m really proud of in my career, I’d start with being the first photographer in the UK to be awarded a double Fellowship from the Master Photographers Association, for observational documentary photography and a Master Craftsman! I chaired the London Portrait Group for five years, an amazing opportunity to meet and work alongside some of the greatest photographers of our time and even establishing life-long friendships with many of them. Back in 2010 I was asked to become a Nikon Ambassador and Trainer for street photography and have lead many wonderful workshops around the world. My work with The Hope Foundation in India has been an incredibly rewarding journey. My photography has been featured in numerous London galleries and in the National Geographic Magazine.
And what do I still love doing the most? Documenting real people’s lives with my camera, capturing the emotions and telling their stories. I’m so lucky as I get to share my passion for this style of photography with other photographers and inspire them, when I run my photography courses.
Oh… And I love freshly ground coffee, talking about photography, listening to smooth music on vinyl and visiting small intimate live gigs, especially at Ronnie Scotts.