Fotograf Tatsiana Avakyan

—Zuallererst - wen können Sie als besten Fotografen in Göteborg, Schweden nennen? :)

—This is a hard question, isn's it? It depends on so many aspects like style, editing, way you work with couple, vision, etc. I personally have some favourites whose works I admire, but I am keeping as a secret, I am letting everyone else to choose for themselves.

—Sind Sie fotogen?

—From my childhood I have this idea in my head that I look horrible on pictures... you know fake smile from your first schoolbook picture? I generally consider myself as a non photogenic person. But I believe that anyone can look good on pictures if camera is in right hands.

—Wie sind sind zur Fotografiebranche gekommen?

—It all started in 2012, when I took my first dslr camera to my brothers wedding. I was following the photographer as her assistant, trying to find interesting angles, watching her work with the couple, asking million questions (I can only imagine how annoyed she must have been). I managed to take 3 really nice portraits from that day, which I still like now. This was how it all begun.

—Was macht Ihrer Meinung nach ein gutes Foto aus?

—Right composition, perfect light, moment and colour are basics of great photo; following these points and combining them in one image, will always end up in an attractive picture.

—Reisen Sie gern?

—I definitely do, traveling is always fun for me. It doesn't matter if I go to another country or closest city. Traveling is experience, time for thoughts and always learning new things.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am meisten?

—I guess being a part of someone's happy day is already joyful in itself. It's amazing to be able to capture couple's emotions on wedding day, see them in love, see them on top of their happiness. Another favourite part of being a wedding photographer is constantly meeting new people, communicating, learning their stories.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am wenigsten?

—There is definitely nothing that I hate about it. And I can't really think of something I dislike, but I guess as any usual job, being a photographer has its own difficulties, hmm let's say like carrying around heavy bags full of equipment.

—Was ist die Zukunft der Fotografie?

—Classics will always stay classics! There obviously will be new trends appearing, changing constantly to something new on and on, but I know most definitely that classic pictures will always be on top.

—Was das Besondere an dem Fotografiegenre, auf das Sie sich spezialisiert haben?

—Wedding is a one of kind thing, you can't rewind, ask someone to repeat their actions, you have to be here and now! this particular moment, you have to be alert and ready for your best shot.

—Wie gehen Sie mit Kritik um?

—Constructive criticism is they key to improvement!

—Gibt es irgendwelche Trends in der Fotografie?

—Yes, most definitely there are, they are changing every season to keep wedding industry alive, new and interesting.

—Was sollten die Kriterien für Kunden bei der Wahl eines Fotografen sein?

—They should love the majority of photographer's works, they should feel like these are the images that they would like to have, they need to agree with photographer's style not to be disappointed when they will receive pictures.

—Was ist bei Fotoaufnahmen strikt verboten?

—Ruining the moment to get a picture!

—Welche Details werden häufig übersehen, die ein Fotograf aber erkennt?

—It's the morning before wedding, normally guests are not involved into this part of the day. Photographer can capture all the exciting moments before the ceremony.

—Was beeinflusst den Wert eines Fotos? Welche Elemente sind wichtig?

—It's uniqueness, the moment, feelings and composition of course.

—Welche Person verkörpert für Sie das 21. Jahrhundert am besten?

—In each era there is one, but it's too early to judge yet.

—Was würden Sie gern fotografieren?

—Grace Jones is number 1 on my list

—Wer inspiriert Sie in Ihrem Leben und warum?

—I've never had a muse or an idol to look up to, I always try to take inspiration from people around me; there is always something we can borrow as an example from each other

—Wie definieren Sie Erfolg? Wie messen Sie ihn?

—Success is being respected, feeling good about what you are doing, enjoying your job, feeling happy.

—Was nehmen Sie mit, wenn Sie auf Reisen gehen und warum?

—I normally take just most necessary things to avoid having and extremely heavy bag, but of course my camera is number one to take with me!

—Haben Sie Apparate oder Ausrüstung, die Sie lieber nicht hätten kaufen sollen? Warum?

—Fish eye lens! Bought in in 2014 for some reason, thought I could do some fun things with it, but it turned out to be totally not my style, so I sold it few months after.

—Wie bilden Sie sich weiter, damit Ihre Bilder noch besser werden?

—Reading articles, trying they things with camera, shooting often.

—Was hätten Sie auf jeden Fall wissen müssen, als Sie mit der Fotografie begannen?

—Business and marketing, boring but useful!

—Was motiviert Sie weiterzumachen?

—Willingness to improve!

—Wenn Sie zurückschauen, was hätten Sie besser machen können?

—If to speak about my life events I would choose to study a different subject in university and would go in photography even earlier then I did.

—Was halten Sie vom Leben auf anderen Planeten?

—Hell's yeah!

—Wann sind Sie mit Ihrer Arbeit in jeder Hinsicht zufrieden?

—When reality exceeded my expectations.

—Glauben Sie an die traditionellen Rollen von Mann und Frau?

—I believe in gender equality!

—Was war das Dümmste, auf das Sie sich je eingelassen haben?

—I have done too many!

—Gibt es ein Leben nach der Heirat?

—Yes definitely! Wedding is just another event in your relationship. So if you focus on each other and keep caring for your partner it will get better and better day by day.

—Das Beste im Leben ist:

—People who surround me.

—Was würden Sie in der Welt ändern?

—If I could, I would erase racism from face of the Earth.

—Haben Sie ein paar Tipps für angehende Fotografen?

—Start out as an assistant! Practice a lot on couple photoshoots, not necessarily wedding, learn how to work with 2 people in picture.

—Wenn Außerirdische auf der Erde ankommen und Sie sind die erste Person, die sie treffen, was sagen Sie zu ihnen?

—''May I take a picture of you?''

—Morgen werde ich...

—Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Edit! Edit! Edit!