Beatnik style

Lara Wyatt talks to Mara Sommer about her latest shoot with D&M Hair, and the importance of personal style

Unearthing and solidifying one’s style as a photographer, and being able to stay true to it during commercial projects, is an opportunity that Mara Sommer has found highly rewarding. Shooting campaigns for D&M Hair for the last three years, she has incorporated her ideal of natural-looking black-and-white portraiture with a wonderful team harmony throughout the creative process.

Early in her life Sommer’s interest in photography was ignited thanks to a close friend of her family who was a photographer. “She shot really beautiful black-and-white portraits, really natural and really beautiful. I remember I was interested in photography since I was 15 or 16 — so really early. I did an art project where I shot black-and-white portraits and I printed them myself in the darkroom … and from that moment I kind of knew I wanted to do something with photography, but I never really thought about how to earn money with it, or saw it as a job,” Sommer says.

During her studies in Communication Design back in Germany, Sommer was able to establish and cement her style. She says it was art based rather than practical, but that this focus on creating a personal signature style was important.

“I think it was perfect, first going to uni to develop your own style and be quite confident in what you do, and then going on to assist, because I think otherwise you maybe try to copy other photographers that work with you.”

D&M Hair has a long history of using one photographer and working closely with a creative team. Prior to Sommer, Craig Owen was the main photographer that Danny Pato,