Fotograf Steve Grogan

—Zuallererst - wen können Sie als besten Fotografen in Manchester, Vereinigtes Königreich nennen? :)

—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!

—Sind Sie fotogen?

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

—Wie sind sind zur Fotografiebranche gekommen?

—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!

—Was macht Ihrer Meinung nach ein gutes Foto aus?

—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.

—Reisen Sie gern?

—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.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am meisten?

—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.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am wenigsten?

—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.

—Was ist die Zukunft der Fotografie?

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

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

—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.

—Wie gehen Sie mit Kritik um?

—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.

—Gibt es irgendwelche Trends in der Fotografie?

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

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

—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.

—Was ist bei Fotoaufnahmen strikt verboten?

—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.

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

—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.

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

—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.

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

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Was würden Sie gern fotografieren?

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

—Worüber machen Sie sich Sorgen und warum?

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

—Welche literarische Figur oder Filmfigur wären Sie gern und warum?

—Bananaman.

—Wie definieren Sie Erfolg? Wie messen Sie ihn?

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

—Gefällt es Ihnen mehr, wenn man Sie mag oder wenn Sie respektiert werden?

—A bit of both.

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

—I travel light.

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

—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?

—Welche Arbeiten haben Sie als Fotografen am meisten beeindruckt?

—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.

—Was motiviert Sie weiterzumachen?

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

—Hätten Ihre Eltern strenger sein müssen?

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

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

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

—Was halten Sie vom Leben auf anderen Planeten?

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

—Was tun Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?

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

—Welche Seite Ihrer Persönlichkeit bleibt dem Publikum verborgen?

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

—Schließen Sie schnell Freundschaft?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Wo würden Sie gern leben?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Haben Sie einen Lieblingswitz? Erzählen Sie ihn.

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

—Lieben Sie Hunde oder Katzen?

—Dogs.

—Wen oder was hassen Sie?

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

—Morgen werde ich...

—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.