Fotograf Jo-Ann Stokes

—Er du fotogen?

—Unfortunately not ....but probably best that I am not because it makes me try extra hard to make my couples feel comfortable in front of the lens and capture beautiful photographs that they will love of themselves.

—Hvordan blev du en del af fotografiindustrien?

—Purely by accident to be honest! My trip into photography started by documenting my life, my kids and then into landscape photography. A friend saw my photos, told her friend who was getting married and they contacted me and asked me to do their wedding. I explained that I had never done a wedding but they were fine with that. I loved it ....and the rest ...is history! And my first clients are still one of my biggest fans!

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

—A photograph that touches your soul ...no matter the composition, the editing etc ...that makes for a good photo ...no actually, that makes for a "great" photo ....but if all you want is good ..then good composition, good lighting and good posing would make a good photo .....I continuously strive to take a "great" photo.

—Elsker du at rejse?

—Do you seriously have to ask? I "love" to travel ...it feeds my soul, opens my eyes, enriches my life and makes me appreciate everything that God created for us.

—Hvad kan du bedst lide ved dit fag?

—The creativity ...if you can visualise it ....you can photograph it! The continious learning curve....there are new things to learn all the time! I am continiously challenged and excited by my profession.

—Hvad synes du mindre godt om ved dit fag?

—The admin!! Wish we were taking photographs 100% of the time ...unfortunately its only a small portion of our workload. And selling myself ...I find it so hard to do!

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ud for fotografering?

—There will alwasy be a future for wedding photography ...people will continously fall in love and want to get married and start families of that I have no doubt ....I think how we photograph weddings will stay fundamentally the same ..but the way we grab our image might change. I see change coming in the fact that we will film the wedding and grab our photographs from the video ...and I am excited about that because a hair breadth of a second can make all the difference to an image.

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

—Wedding photography is special because it makes you forget all the bad things in the world for a few brief moments. It makes you believe that the world is all rosy, full of love and that there is bright future ahead and there is truth in fairytales and the "happy ever after"

—Hvordan håndterer du kritik?

—Well I am a creative ...so lets just say ...it can hurt! But I am also open-minded so I can take a step back and look at it through that persons eyes and see if their criticism is valuable. Good criticism is worth its weight in gold!

—Er der nogen tendenser inden for fotografering?

—There are always trends in photography! The question needs to be asked ..how will your images look in 30 years ...will the trend stand the test of time. Quality, timeless photography will never date.

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

—Initially the couple should love the photography ...it should speak to them. But the most important criteria is that you like your photographer and feel comfortable with them....you will spend a large part of your day with this person in your space ..its best that you like them.

—Hvilke ting er slet ikke tilladt under fotograferingen?

—Cheesy!

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

—We can see moments that develop and are waiting for them to happen.

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

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

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

—The co-founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And our very own, Nelson Mandela!

—Hvem vil du gerne fotografere?

—My next bride!

—Har du nogen professionelle tabuemner?

—One or two ...nudity is not my thing!

—Hvem ville du gerne fotografere sammen med?

—Thats a tough one ...Jose Villa, ..I love his pastel, airy, film look but I also love the dark, moody look from Susan Stripling.

—Hvad bekymrer du dig om, og hvorfor?

—I worry about my children ...I am first and foremost a Mom! From a wedding photographers perspective ..that I lose a wedding due to faulty cards, crashing computers & harddrives. I have made every provision to safeguard my clients weddings but it is natural to worry about their images.

—Hvad har været det mest imponerende øjeblik i dit liv?

—The birth of my sons. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison to those moments.

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

—I am enjoying the character, Elizabeth McCord from Madam Secretary at the moment. She handles problems with intelligence, respect and sensitivity in very fragile situations.

—Hvem inspirerer dig i dit liv, og hvorfor?

—My family inspire me ...they inspire me to be better...they inspire me to prove to them that life is for living and that you make your own destiny with the choices and decisions that you make. Every action has a reaction. Mistakes are not always bad as the experience it teaches you is sometimes more valuable that getting something 100% correct.

—Hvordan definerer du succes? Hvordan måler du det?

—A successful person is a person who has balance in their life! A happy marriage, family life & career ..is my definition of success! Only having a successful career with money in the bank ...can make for a very lonely/empty life.

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

—Neither ....I would prefer to be loved!

—Hvad er den største fejl, du nogensinde har begået i dit arbejde?

—When I worked in banking ....I paid a rather large sum of money into the wrong persons account!

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

—My camera and a lens ...do I need anything more?

—Er der noget, du ville ønske, du ikke havde købt blandt de tingester, som du ejer? Hvorfor?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

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

—I attend workshops, watch videos, practice, practice, practice!

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

—Many of my photographer friends have in their own small way influenced me. Each one has at some stage dropped a pearl of wisdom on my eager ears.

—Hvad er det eneste, du ville ønske, du vidste, da du begyndte at tage billeder?

—I initially started to play around with a camera when i was a teenager ...I wish I had figured out then, that this was the career that I loved.

—Hvad vil du gerne fortælle med dine fotografier?

—I am not big into props ....I prefer the people in my photographs to be the focal point. It is their essence, emotions that tell the story.

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

—I dont think there is anything that motivates me to continue to take photos ....I think it is an extension of who I am ...even when I dont have my camera with me ...I am still framing photos in my eye and taking a mental photo of a scene.

—Burde dine forældre have været mere eller mindre strikse?

—They were perfect. I like the way I turned out ...lol!

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

—Nothing ...if i went back in time to change anything ...then my outcome might be very different to where I am now ....and I kind of like where I am now. And if I had actually done photography from a teenager then my people skills would not have been developed. I believe there was a reason for only discovering my love for photography later on.

—Hvad med liv på andre planeter?

—Possible ...but have no interest in finding out ...its bad enough controlling the human race that we have here ...we sure as heck dont need the headache of another race somewhere else.

—Hvem er dine helte?

—There are no heroes ....everyone is only human ...we all err on this road we call life. There are people who I respect i.e Nelson Mandela, FW De Klerk, Mother Theresa, Pope Francis, Thuli Madonsela

—Hvem har du ingen respekt for?

—Dictators, bad politicians, criminals, children and animal abusers! Our president, Jacob Zuma, Stupidity, Robert Mugabe.

—Hvad laver du i din fritid?

—My hubby has a Harley Davidson motorbike and we often will go on road trips around the Cape and needless to say ...I take photos. I enjoy socialising with fellow photographers. I walk in a farm close to my house with my dogs.

—Hvilken side af dig viser du aldrig offentligt?

—They dont see me stressed or worried. I show a calm face to the outside world and behind the scenes I make a plan. I also have a wicked sense of humour that I try to keep in check.

—Hvornår er du helt tilfreds med dit arbejde?

—I wish I knew the answer ...then i would create a formula and stick to it ..but there again then I might end up being bored!

—Tror du på de traditionelle mande- og kvinderoller?

—Yes and no ....I believe women can do anything they put their minds too ...but I also believe that men are traditionally the hunters and do not enjoy being the hunted. Let them enjoy the chase.

—Har du let ved at få nye venner?

—Very easily. I can chat to complete strangers wherever I am.

—Hvor vil du gerne bo?

—If I couldnt live in Cape Town for whatever reason ...then I would go to the next extreme and live in London ...but only if I had a lot of money ;)

—Hvad er det dummeste, du nogensinde har indvilget i at gøre?

—A nude shoot

—Er der liv efter ægteskabet?

—lol ...yes, definitely! I have done more and had more fun with my husband than with any other human being. He is the one who has my back, who I rely on, who I can be real with, who accepts me for who I am ...who will look after me when I am sick or sad ....to lend a Greys Anatomy line ..."he is my person" ...but yes there were times when I could have lovingly strangled his neck..he definitely still knows how to push my buttons!

—Har du en yndlingsvittighed? Fortæl den til os.

—Yes ..I do ...but I think it might be a bit too dirty for a wedding blog ...especially for people considering getting married ...lol! Only old married couples would find it amusing!

—Kan du lide hunde eller katte?

—Dogs ...grew up with them all my life! My dad was allergic to cats ..so was never allowed to have one ....so not too sure if I would have loved cats more!

—Hvem eller hvad hader du?

—People who are rigid and the world is black and white and do not see outside the box.

—Det bedste ved livet er:

—free!

—Det mest irriterende ved livet er:

—People who do not listen

—Er der nogen ting rundt omkring, som du gerne vil ændre?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre ved dig selv?

—I wish I had more time!

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre i verden?

—Evil

—Kan du give et par råd til de fotografer, som lige er startet?

—Be unique ...find your own style ....do not be like sheep and copy everyone else! Trust in the way you see the world ..you will develop!

—Hvis nogle rumvæsner kom til jorden, og du var den første person, de mødte, hvad ville du så sige til dem?

—If you know whats good for you ...turn around and run in the opposite direction

—Hvis du bliver spurgt, om du vil indspille en film, hvilken genre vil det så være?

—A romance or a drama

—I morgen tager jeg ud og...

—some food shopping, a maternity shoot, some editing ...watch our national rugby team , the Springboks play their first game at the Rugby World Cup 15 in England against Japan!