Rangefinder Magazine
February 2005

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Profile: Cliff Mautner by Linda L. May
Thinking Outside the Box!

This successful East Coast wedding photographer goes out of his way to find the best lighting situation for every image he shoots. Interesting lighting situations, unique compositional scenarios and the natural interaction of brides and grooms are techniques he uses to create his compelling, award-winning images.

Cliff Mautner, owner of Cliff Mautner Photography in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, once thought wedding photography was a joke—nothing he’d ever like to do. After all, for 15 years, he worked as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and never dreamed of a career as a wedding photographer. But all of that changed after he shot his first wedding as a favor for a corporate CEO, who asked him to shoot his daughter’s wedding in a photojournalistic manner—the same way he photographed assignments for the newspaper. Cliff loved it! After leaving the Inquirer in 1998, he opened Cliff Mautner Photography out of his home and has never looked back. Now, his name is recognized as one of the top photographers in the Philadelphia region, where the vast majority of his clientele get married.

His interest in photography started at age seven while on vacation with his family in Washington, D.C. Everyone around him was taking pictures of the historic sites, which influenced Cliff to pester his parents for a camera of his own.

“Just to satisfy me, my parents bought me a camera for a dollar from a street vendor,” Cliff Mautner says, smiling. “It never did work, nor did it produce any pictures, but it shut me up for the rest of the trip.”

During high school, he was still interested in photography and photographed his friends and family, but he never took any photography classes. When he attended Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey, he lived off campus after his sophomore year and needed a job to pay the bills. One day, he read an ad seeking a photojournalist for an “award-winning weekly newspaper.” Although he didn’t know a whole lot about photography, they were so desperate, Cliff talked his way into the position, and he was hired on the spot. For two years, Cliff worked part-time on weekends, while attending college. He also worked another job at night in a photo lab. Not only did he have to shoot five to six assignments per weekend and process and print his own film, but he also had to process, edit, and print all the rolls shot by the reporters each week. This job really taught him darkroom skills. He explains. “At that job, I had to process and print some of the worst negatives I’ve ever encountered. I had to make decent, publishable images from thin negs, heavy negs and all kinds of garbage. As a result, I became a great printer. All that effort for $75 per weekend.”

In 1984, during his senior year in college, he was hired by the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he stayed for next 15 years. He photographed over 6000 assignments for that paper. He photographed world leaders, political candidates, celebrities, sports at all levels, and he traveled to third world countries on assignment. “Working at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I had a front seat to the world,” Cliff says. “I got to meet people and see places and things that the average person would never experience.” While working full time at the newspaper, Cliff cultivated quite a commercial and corporate clientele list. He freelanced for such well known companies as Comcast, Subaru, Tastykake, First Union Bank, Motorola and a multitude of ad agencies. In 1998, Cliff decided to slow down his fast-paced life, so he left the Inquirer. At that time, Cliff chose wedding photography because he realized brides were looking for something more than the traditional posed coverage. Brides were eager to allow Cliff to capture their wedding as an artistic interpretation of the day, with some of the traditional aspects mixed in. Using this approach, Cliff is truly passionate about his work. Now, he books approximately 56 weddings per year and is one of the elite wedding photographers in the Philadelphia region.

Word of mouth brings in the most new clients to Cliff Mautner Photography. However, high-end venues, such as The Ritz Carlton Philadelphia, The Rittenhouse Hotel, and Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, prefer his services and display his images. The direct verbal referrals he receives from these and other venues are invaluable to his business. Full-page print ads run in the Philly edition of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines. Cliff recently had his web site redesigned and updated, which he hopes will aid his climb to the next level.

This successful wedding photographer shot his first official wedding for $650, including album and prints. Now, his rates start at $6000 for eight hours of coverage, and increase from there. He feels his success comes in part because of his very personal customer service. Clients can reach Cliff any time, anywhere on his cell phone, including the golf course, where he spends some time during the week. They rarely get an annoying recorded message. Clients know he is the one who will handle their entire photography experience, from capture to the finished Leather Craftsmen albums and prints. “I want only the best things to be said about my ability to satisfy my client’s every need, even though I’m a small, one-man operation,” Cliff explains.

Cliff delivers approximately 1000 4x6 paper proofs, and 50 finished images in a Leather Craftsmen 800 series, matted album for the $6000 starting package. However, re-orders, parent albums and extra prints added to the album increase this amount substantially.

Cliff says, “I’m completely digital, without actually shooting digitally right now.” He still shoots mostly film on his weddings because he feels that digital capture is just not right for him yet. However, he does plan to switch to digital capture sometime in the future, as soon as he finds a camera that will satisfy his tough standards. “I have been searching for a digital SLR that can perform like my Nikon F5s and have been terribly frustrated. I love just giving my lab a bag of film and getting back beautiful prints. I get frustrated with all digital SLRs, especially with flash. With my film bodies, I never give exposure a second thought. It comes so natural for me. I fully understand that some of my digital colleagues are making it work beautifully for them, and I respect that. However, I am just not on board quite yet,” Cliff says.

He understands his workflow will drastically change once he goes digital, and that’s another aspect he must consider when making the switch. Cliff is hoping to incorporate some digital capture this season, using the Nikon D2X camera.

Currently, he uses Nikon F5 and more recently, F6 cameras, with a variety of Nikon lenses, ranging from a 14mm wide-angle to an 80–200 f/2.8 telephoto zoom, and most focal lengths in between. As for film, he shoots Fujicolor NPH 400 ISO and NPZ 800 for color and Ilford XP2-Super and Kodak TMZ 3200 ISO for black-and-white work. The Nikon SB-800 is his strobe of choice. Whenever possible, he prefers available light, only utilizing the flash when needed, and even then just for iTTL fill. However, Cliff carries Dyna-lites and umbrellas for the large family groups taken indoors. “I don’t like flash on camera for lighting indoor formals, so I take the extra time to set up a studio lighting situation,” Cliff says.

Light is everything, according to Cliff. “Light is the most crucial tool we have to create dimension, mood and texture. Ask any sculptor or painter what is the most important tool they use in their work, and they will all say light. The common denominator of all art is light. I always need to find the best light available to me. Without great light, you can’t make a truly great image,” Cliff says.

Although Cliff shoots nearly all film for weddings, he is involved with the Digital Wedding Forum because it’s a great resource tool. “The DWF is a wonderful online photographic community that gives me the interaction and feedback from other photographers that I have truly missed since leaving my colleagues at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Some of the best photographers in the world belong to the Forum. Photographic styles vary around the world, and I have begun to open my mind up to these styles. But they haven’t convinced me to switch to digital capture just yet,” Cliff jokes.

“I don’t try to capture just what a bride and groom look like, I try to convey the essence of who they are. Showing the passion between the bride and groom means so much to me. My goal is to put couples in the best light and have them be themselves. The concept of allowing the story of the entire wedding day to unfold naturally, capturing each decisive moment, unobtrusively, utilizing the most beautiful light available, through countless breathtaking photographic images, is the essence of what I do. I simply see these moments and capture those moments!” Cliff tells Rangefinder.

For most of his weddings, Cliff uses Elizabeth Robertson as his assistant. Elizabeth has worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 19 years and is a seasoned shooter in her own right. Cliff says they have worked together for so many years, they have an almost telepathic communication system, so they are in sync and work extremely well together.

Cliff strongly encourages couples he is photographing to see each other before the ceremony. When he explains his reasons, most couples agree, even if they had originally planned to wait to meet for the first time at the altar.

“Right after the bride is dressed and looking radiant, I take her outside to a specific spot that I have already chosen, where the light is perfect, and leave her alone with her thoughts for five to seven minutes. While she’s doing this, I’ll be shooting her from a distance with a Nikon 70–200mm VR zoom lens. I give her space to be alone with her thoughts and let the anticipation build. After a few moments, my assistant brings out the groom. This is truly a wonderful moment: seeing each other for the first time that day. It’s not quite as cheezy as two people running towards each other in a field, like you see in the movies; however, it’s still deeply emotional and personal, and often passionate. I don’t talk with the couple, nor give directions. I let them interact normally, and just record this special encounter,” Cliff says.

“My brides and grooms are educated towards this approach. When couples first come to the studio to view my work, I explain this practice and see how they like the idea. I describe just what’s going to happen and show them samples of other couples during this special moment.

“Most couples change their minds and decide to see each other beforehand because they soon realize that walking down the aisle and not being able to interact, has its downfalls. The groom can’t tell his future spouse how beautiful she looks in her gown. They cannot hug each other nor freely interact at this moment. Walking down the aisle is very public. Everyone present gets to see the bride at the same time as the groom. So, my way, couples get some quiet, private time away from the guests to chat and share the experience. Many couples tell me this photo session was the best part of their whole day. I am honored and privileged to be able to document it for them.”

In the future, Cliff plans to continue photographing about 55–60 weddings or so per year because that’s the limit for him to do by himself. He’d also like to become better known around the nation, and shoot some destination weddings. He hopes the updated web site and new branding will be a catalyst for this expansion.

Holding photography seminars and classes is another goal he plans to implement in 2005. After all, he’s been shooting professionally for 22 years and has learned a few things during this time. Now, he’s ready to share his knowledge, and hopefully help others succeed in this industry.

“Certain elements are universal to photography, such as light, composition, anticipation, emotion and speed of capture. Keeping that in mind, wedding photographers need to make both technical skills and people skills second nature in order to succeed. Remember to step outside the box, and experiment! Don’t be afraid to try a different approach. Above all, passion is what drives me! Without it, photography would be just another job,” Cliff concludes.

Readers may contact Cliff Mautner via email at: cliff@cm photography.com; or view his images on his web site: www.cmphotography.com/.

Cliff will be a speaker at WPPI’s 25th Anniversary Convention, held at BALLY’s, March 19–24 in Las Vegas. His Leather Craftsmen-sponsored seminar is titled “Editorial Vision in Wedding Photography,” and covers his “editorial vision” of the wedding day, showing how he captures the essence of the bride and groom.

Linda L. May is a freelance photographer based in the Midwest.