Fusion Photography is one of Australia’s finest wedding photography boutiques. Their images are among precious collections of happy couples around Australia and the world.
We wanted to know a bit more about the man, Ben Kopilow, owner and operator of Fusion Photography, and his craft through this Q&A interview.

Feel free to interact with Ben by posting your questions in the comments below.

Australian-Photo: Who are you?
Ben Kopilow: Ben Kopilow from Fusion Photography

A-P: How did you become a wedding/portrait/commercial photographer?
Ben:  I purchased my first camera about 10 years ago and after teaching myself for a few months I entered and won first prize at the Floriade photography competition. This encourage me to pursue photography more seriously and I started out selling photography cards & prints at local markets. I was also accepted by an emerging stock photography library and started selling my images to many publishers and designers etc. Later that year I got invited to be a second shooter at a friends wedding and I fell in love with wedding photography. I took that one set of photo to the next bridal fair and within a year I was booked out shooting up to 60 weddings a year.

A-P: What inspires you?
Ben: I don’t consider myself overly “arty” for arts sake. I enjoy shooting and creating whatever I think is aesthetically beautiful to me! So I guess I’m inspired by my own sense of aesthetics really. I lean towards very graphic images and I love bold colours. I also love impressionism & abstraction and am inspired by artist as diverse as Monet & Kandinsky. When shooting people I prefer more natural style shots with a sense of movement instead of static, posed images. And I am a big fan of natural light – I never really got into studio portraits.

A-P: Who would be the photographer you’d like to shoot with on an assignment?
Ben: For a wedding – Joe Buissink, otherwise any National Geographic Photographer – Steve McCurry is one of my favourites.

A-P: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt either from a teacher/mentor or by the hard way?
Ben: As I taught myself, I had to learn most things the hard way. And what I learned from that it’s much better to get a mentor than learn from your own mistakes! Also, photography is really no different to any other endeavour in life – success comes from 10% inspiration/90% hard work.

A-P: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring photographers?
Ben: Yes:

1. Perfect your craft as much as possible – learn to become skilled in your composition, use of light, interaction with people etc.

2. Don’t just sit in classrooms, get out there and practice your craft, shoot, shoot, shoot!

3. Develop your visual awareness – Interact with other photographers, visit galleries/museums, study art.

4. Join the AIPP!

5. Do a workshop with a photographer you admire and/or get a photography mentor (especially for the business side of things).

6. Work hard, push yourself, challenge yourself, take risks, and always follow your own passion!

A-P: What kind of equipment do you use (camera/lens brand, computer hardware software)?
Ben: I use Nikon cameras & Apple Mac computers for post-production. My favourite camera is the Nikon D3s (though it may soon be the D4!) and my favourite Nikon lenses are: 35mm f/1.4, 14-24mm f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4 & 105mm f/2.8 1:1 macro. I rarely use a flash.

A-P: What’s your favourite piece of gear?
Ben: For weddings my 70-200, for anything else my macro lens.

A-P: What would be your workflow, favourite piece of software?
Ben: I use Aperture (basically it’s Apple’s version of Lightroom) for my RAW processing & cataloguing and Photoshop for my finishing work.

A-P: Anything else we should know about you?
Ben: I’m cuddly, generous, whimsical, romantic, and madly in love with my wife of 23 years, Oh and an awesome photographer!

Ben is the state president of the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photographers) Canberra branch.
He has won numerous awards at local, state, national and international levels.
Find out more about Ben and Fusion Photography at www.fusionphotography.biz
Follow Ben on his Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/FusionPhotographyAustralia

Feel free to interact with Ben by posting your questions in the comments below. Images copyright Fusion Photography.

 

 

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