Marcy and a Le Top model
The Le Top brand is known for working with vendors for years – one person we adore working with is our fashion photographer extraordinaire, Marcy Maloy. She photographs our seasonal campaigns but is also now part of the “Le Top family.” Marcy was on her way to Paris and we were able to squeeze out some of her time to interview her and give you and inside look from a photographer’s eyes on her passion for her career and photographing children. Read below for Part #1 of the interview. Tomorrow will be Part 2!
What advice can you offer parents for the top 3-5 tips on how to photograph a child? Portrait and snapshot.
Marcy:
- Always be ready!!! i.e. parents should keep their camera very accessible at all times. Most digital cameras are small so no excuses…Keep it in your purse or in the kitchen or just always nearby…and make sure the batteries are charged. Special moments come and go quickly.
- Don’t direct your child. They will probably start hamming it up anyway, ruining a perfectly great moment…but if you just ignore them, they will usually go back to doing what they were doing.
- Never ask your child’s permission to take his or photo. Just start snapping without making a big deal of it and if they complain ignore them. The idea is to try to get them to forget you and go back into their world so you can get something special. If you take enough photos it will be like a reality show and they will eventually forget that you are documenting their lives…and remember, some of the most priceless moments are when they are crying or have a dirty face or are mad at you. I used to shoot my daughters when they were mad at me or at something, and that would make them Really Mad!! I got some priceless moments.
What do you find challenging at a children’s photo shoot?
Marcy: The thing I find most challenging at a photo shoot is taking the energy of the room and the parents down so that I can get the child calm enough to capture a magical moment. Many times the parents are so nervous that their child won’t do “good” that they have ironically created a “no win” situation. Sometimes I will catch a parent off camera hissing at their kid to do “what the lady says.”
Tell us your most funny “stage mom” moment (a.k.a. crazy mom or parent trying to get their child to pose or do something funny).
Marcy: The most hysterical funny moment I remember is when I looked just behind me and a determined Dad was actually doing a somersault on the concrete floor to get his daughter to laugh! It was incredible! I asked him to please stop, the child is terrified, and has no idea why or what’s going on or why their parents are acting so weird. I can’t ban a parent from the set especially if a child is young. Because the presence of their mom or dad is a calming factor, even though the parent is actually the nervous one.
How would you describe your style of photography?
Marcy: I would describe my style of photography as “bird-watching”….Where I’m quiet and patient and hope they forget I’m there. If you wait long enough, you can slip into their world. When I’m shooting a lot of shots in a short amount of time, I don’t have that luxury, so sometimes I have to “trick” my subjects…as in “what’s on your shoe” to get a profile I want…or “quick catch this package” to jolt them out of some artificial pose their parents may have taught them.
What is your inspiration in photography?
Marcy: In general, my inspiration in photography is light. Natural light or studio lighting…it plays a key factor in establishing the emotion of a picture. It’s a little different when shooting a catalogue where I have to do a lot of different photos in a set amount of time…in that case, I come up with a lighting plan I think is pretty and I stick to it throughout the day. With only 10 minutes per shot, I don’t have time to change lights!
Who is your hero photographer?
Marcy: A photographer whose work I admire a lot is a European woman named Ulla Nyeman. She captures a whimsical spontaneity that I love!
How carefully do you plan a photography shoot, and what elements might be spontaneous?
Marcy: My crew helps me to plan for every single thing that could go wrong and we have back-ups for the back-ups! There are a lot of people involved at a Le Top and rabbitmoon photo shoot. Chris (the co-founder) has many assistants who have done the scheduling to the last minute: Models arrive on time or earlier….never late….the lunch has been pre-ordered….even an afternoon 15 minute break is factored in…Otherwise we wouldn’t have time to go to the bathroom! We plan for everything because when something does go wrong …we can minimize its implications. It’s really not IF there will be a problem, but rather how quickly and calmly we can solve the problem. By taking care of as many things as possible, I can step back and allow for spontaneity on the set. It’s the moment that isn’t planned for that makes the best shot! You don’t know what those moments are going to be, but you have to be patient and keep everybody calm and quiet in order to let them happen.
Do you have kids?
Marcy: I have 2 daughters ages 21 and 24-years-old. I have thousands of photos of them…mostly in boxes…they are so used to being photographed…I would love to publish a photo book of them entitled “Please don’t take my picture!” because I have so many pictures of them with their hand in front of their face, frowning at me.
Do you shoot film or digital and why?
Marcy: I shoot digital because it’s fast and I can shoot hundreds of images quickly, allowing for more spontaneity…less staged moments.
Can you share a few of your favorite recent shots from the Fall 2011 Le Top and rabbitmoon campaign? See below!
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