Fotograf Steve Grogan

—Først og fremmest - hvem kan du navngive som den bedste fotograf i Manchester, Storbritannien? :)

—Oooooh crikey, that is a very good question. There are many that I admire from my home city, but I'll plump for Pete Farrell of Pixies in the Cellar. His eye for composition is just ridiculous!

—Er du fotogen?

—No. I absolutely hate having my photograph taken as I have a head like a thumb.

—Hvordan blev du en del af fotografiindustrien?

—If you'd have told me 5-6 years ago that I'd be a wedding photographer I'd have laughed at you. I believed that all wedding photography was contrived nonsense and it didn't appeal to me at all. However, once I'd photographed a couple of weddings as a second shooter I realised that wedding photography could be whatever you wanted it to be. So I took the plunge!

—Hvad er de vigtigste komponenter i et godt billede efter din mening?

—For me it's all about the moment and composition. I'm not overly technical and don't stress about a little over/under exposure. The moment is so important to me.

—Elsker du at rejse?

—Yes. I love it. Thankfully I've been able to travel rather a lot and being my own boss has enabled me to do more than ever.

—Hvad kan du bedst lide ved dit fag?

—Perhaps a little cliched, but I like the idea of leaving behind images for future generations to enjoy. Plus I get to work alongside some amazing people. I've made friends for life since I started out.

—Hvad synes du mindre godt om ved dit fag?

—Of course, there is always going to be something. The only part I don't enjoy is doing the staged group photos, but that's only a tiny percentage of the wedding so I can live with that.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ud for fotografering?

—I honestly have no idea. Who knows what the future holds?

—Hvad er der specielt ved den fotografigenre, du specialiserer dig i?

—Wedding photographers have to deal with a myriad of changing lighting situations throughout the day. This is definitely one of the most challenging aspects, especially when there are restrictions placed on you by churches for example, where you are rarely allowed to add any flash.

—Hvordan håndterer du kritik?

—I take it on the chin. If it's unsolicited then I'll always question it, but any constructive feedback I get is valued as it'll help me to improve.

—Er der nogen tendenser inden for fotografering?

—A lot of weddings in the UK do follow a similar pattern, so it's quite easy for your images to eventually become repetitive.

—Hvad bør kriterierne være for en kunde, der skal vælge en fotograf?

—If I was looking for a wedding photographer then I'd obviously be looking for someone whose images connected with me in some way. Once you've established that you like the images then I would advise any future newlyweds to meet up with the photographer, go for a beer/coffee/cake, have a chat with them, see if you like them as they are going to be around for pretty much all of your day.

—Hvilke ting er slet ikke tilladt under fotograferingen?

—For me, not much. I'd photograph anything if it happened at a wedding. Obviously, if someone objected for any reason then I'd stop. But I'd also use my common sense and gut feeling.

—Hvilke detaljer, der som regel går ubemærket hen, vil en fotograf bemærke?

—One thing I learned quite early on was to step away from the couple for most of the day. There is so much going on around them that you can miss if you are too focussed on photographing just the couple. My couples seem to appreciate that I can show them images from moments they had no idea happened on their wedding day.

—Hvad påvirker værdien af et foto? Hvilke elementer indeholder det?

—Any photo can hold value to anyone. I've probably taken thousands of "average" simple photos that could be so valuable to my couples and their families/friends. For example, someone who has recently passed away. Those photos then become priceless.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundrede efter din mening?

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Hvem vil du gerne fotografere?

—Easy one. I'd love to spend some time photographing and chatting with Sir Alex Ferguson.

—Hvad bekymrer du dig om, og hvorfor?

—Yes, the constant wars all over the world. Utterly awful.

—Hvis du var en animeret figur, en fiktiv person eller en person i en film, hvem ville du så være, og hvorfor?

—Bananaman.

—Hvordan definerer du succes? Hvordan måler du det?

—Happiness is the only measure of success. People who equate money to success are totally missing the point, in my opinion.

—Foretrækker du, at folk kan lide dig, eller at de respekterer dig?

—A bit of both.

—Når du skal rejse, hvad tager du så med dig, og hvorfor?

—I travel light.

—Hvordan uddanner du dig selv til at tage bedre billeder?

—Practice, practice and practice. Take photos, thousands of them. And if you don't like them or they don't look right, figure out why that is, and then work on it. That's pretty much how I managed to become an established full-time professional. I lived and breathed photography until I was confident I'd reached a certain level of competency to be able to charge money for my work. Oh, and practice more. Did I mention practice?

—Hvis arbejde har haft størst indflydelse på dig som fotograf?

—There are a few whose work I admire and these were inspiring for me when I was first dipping my toes into the world of wedding photography. Andrew Billington, Alan Law, Steven Rooney, Adam Johnson, Two Mann Studios & Pete Farrell are all wedding photographers that I admire. There are more, but these are the ones off the top of my head.

—Hvad motiverer dig til at fortsætte med at tage billeder?

—The genuine love for what I do. Being surrounded by happy people is infectious and good for my soul. I rarely do negativity.

—Burde dine forældre have været mere eller mindre strikse?

—Possible more strict, especially at meal times as I have a lot of mental blocks to certain types of food.

—Hvis du kunne gå tilbage i tiden, hvad ville du så gøre anderledes?

—I'd probably have traveled more in my late teens/early twenties.

—Hvad med liv på andre planeter?

—Based on the laws of probability, I'd say yes.

—Hvad laver du i din fritid?

—With my family and friends plus lots of napping with my dogs, reading, traveling and being idle.

—Hvilken side af dig viser du aldrig offentligt?

—My insecurities tend to be kept under lock and key. But I worry myself to sleep most nights.

—Har du let ved at få nye venner?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Hvor vil du gerne bo?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Har du en yndlingsvittighed? Fortæl den til os.

—Why was the sand wet? Because the sea weed.

—Kan du lide hunde eller katte?

—Dogs.

—Hvem eller hvad hader du?

—Hate is a strong word. Wow. That's a hard one. Perhaps Donald Trump or Theresa May could fall into that category.

—I morgen tager jeg ud og...

—I'm going out with some fellow photographers for drinks in Manchester. Our weekends tend to be during the week given what we do for a living.