Photographe Stephanie Kindermann

—First and foremost – whom can you name as the best photographer in Brisbane, Australie? :)

—Ha! There's a mad, crazy hoard of us.

—Êtes-vous photogénique ?

—Yes, and I'll tell you why – I have a high threshold for embarrassment. The less self conscious you are, the better you photograph.

—Comment avez-vous commencé à travailler dans la photographie ?

—So here's the story – my father had been a wedding photographer and so I had my first little film disposables from about 5 years old. I’d shot probably thousands of rolls by the time I made it to photography college, but it was the moment where I was standing in the darkroom seeing that first image rise out of the chemical trays that I remember. Everyone else around me was fairly cool about the whole process but I couldn’t stop laughing with this electric thrill. This was the moment in my life where it became absolutely clear – I knew this is what I was going to do now. Weddings? Everyone loves a party. And a wedding is the best kind of party to shoot.

—Selon vous, quels sont les éléments les plus importants d'une bonne photo ?

—Good visual narrative – all the elements needed to give you context.
The split second – at the high point of madness.
The feels – something that makes your heart hurt or leap.

—Aimez-vous voyager ?

—I live for it.

—Quel aspect de votre profession préférez-vous ?

—Learning the world's secrets.
I'll share some of them with you.
No one cooks better than a Greek mama or parties as hard as a Croatian groomsman. Vietnamese elders are the bravest karaoke singers, the French do the best cigar and whiskey bar (not to mention the cheeses) and that Ghanaians will crush any dance floor. Chinese door games can be a hair raising experience, and it is deeply moving it is to see Maori women sing a welcoming song to the bride.

—Quel aspect de votre profession aimez-vous le moins ?

—When the alternate drop arrives, the chicken is always overcooked. Always.

—Quel est le futur de la photographie ?

—Wow this is cool, I hope it will be some sort of virtual reality with a fully rendered 3D capture from the entire day. You'll be able to bang on your head set and take a walk through the entire event from any time and angle.

—Qu'est-ce que le style de photographie dans lequel vous travaillez a de spécial ?

—Often having a professional photograph your family is a very rare event. With this in mind I always devote a lot of time and care to capture portraits of treasured people – grandparents, GREAT grandparents, brothers, sisters, children.

—Comment gérez-vous les critiques ?

—I walked through a lot of fire in my early years of learning to shoot, and I'm still here :) Think of my teacher as being that old guy from Kill Bill who strokes his beard a lot.

—Y a-t-il des modes dans la photographie ?

—Yes, and they're mostly so cheesy. Things like making love hearts with your hands.... plz no!

—Quels devraient être les critères pour qu'un client choisisse un photographe ?

—Love the work – don't employ your photographer then ask for an aesthetic from another artist!
Vibes! Would you want to drink a beer with them? Ideally you start the booking process with good vibes, and finish the wedding singing bad karaoke together.

—Quels sont les interdits lors de photographie ?

—Hunger. Bride, groom, photographer and squad members should be loaded up with snacks. Picnic style canapes and champagne if you're fancy, sausage rolls and red bull if you're not.

—Quels détails seul un photographe peut-il remarquer ?

—Ha! "Common people," love it.
One of my favourites is the tight-lipped, crazy-eyed stage-whispered threats of a parent to errant child – usually during a particularly tender moment during the ceremony.

—Qu'est-ce qui influence la valeur d'une photo ? Quels en sont les éléments ?

—The value in a photo is, I feel, in how valued the subject is in it.
For example, a wife will always love a portrait of her husband that has captured how she sees him. If he's a charismatic person, than a genuine laugh. If he's a quiet person, then a photograph of him unaware, relaxed and thoughtful.

—Quelle personne peut être le symbole du 21ème siècle selon vous ?

—Elon Musk. Billionaire, genius, puts a model car in his real car then launches it into space. What a legend.

—Qui aimeriez-vous prendre en photo ?

—People madly in love.

—Avez-vous des tabous professionnels ?

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Avec quel photographe aimeriez-vous faire une séance photo ?

—Jonas Peterson. He seems like a very relaxed, interesting fellow.

—De quoi vous inquiétez-vous, et pourquoi ?

—Mostly I have dreams where I've overslept my alarm and a bride is calling me, asking where I am, and I'm a 2 hour drive away. I guess that's my biggest worry.

—Quel a été le moment le plus impressionnant de votre vie ?

—Once, driving home very late from a wedding (of course), I saw space junk or a comet or the worlds most massive shooting star – so bright it illuminated everything around me. It travelled directly down the line of the straight highway I was driving for a full 10 seconds before burning out. An exceptional moment.

—Si vous étiez un personnage de dessin animé, de livre ou de film, qui seriez-vous et pourquoi ?

—Trinity from The Matrix. She was cool and wore latex before lip injections and enormous butts became the symbols of beauty.

—Qui vous inspire dans votre vie et pourquoi ?

—Jimmy Nelson, photographer and author of Before They Pass Away. His is a body of work that is truly exceptional and of historical value.

—Comment définissez-vous le succès ? Comment le mesurez-vous ?

—Can't measure it but you can feel it – are you getting enough quality sleep? Are you eating well and sharing good wine with friends? Do you have leisure time with your loved ones, and does your work fill you with pleasure?

—Préférez-vous être aimé ou respecté ?

—Not everyone will like you all of the time, but you should always conduct yourself in a way that people have no loss of respect for you.

—Quelle a été votre plus grande erreur professionnelle ?

—Working at a camera shop, shipped two very expensive video cameras to someone who turned out to be fraudulent. OOPS!

—Quand vous partez en voyage que prenez-vous avec vous et pourquoi ?

—My husband, because he can read maps.

—Est-ce que vous regrettez d'avoir acheté un de vos gadgets ? Lequel et pourquoi ?

—No, but people love to "gift" me their defunct camera gear. Please stop doing this baby boomer friends.

—Quelle méthode utilisez-vous pour améliorer vos prises de photo ?

—I spend A LOT of time on lovely curation sites like this one.

—Qui vous a influencé le plus en tant que photographe ?

—Steve McCurry (again). Portrait photographer for National Geographic.

—Quelle chose auriez-vous aimer connaître avant de vous lancer dans la photographie ?

—That the rules don't actually matter, and only diminish the potential expression of true moments.

—Qu'aimeriez-vous dire avec vos photos ?

—This is a mirror of your life in this moment.

—Quelle est votre motivation pour continuer la photographie ?

—I have no other talents. LOL, no I can cook quite well. But photographing is my true purpose.

—Pensez-vous que vos parents auraient dû être plus stricts ? Moins stricts ?

—Less. I was raised conservative Catholic. Not allowed to watch The Simpsons when you're 17... come on!

—Si vous pouviez revenir dans le temps, que changeriez-vous ?

—I wouldn't bother going to study, and instead buy a great kit and apprentice myself out 3 years earlier instead. I did the ol' highschool > study > apprentice > professional route. But study is now a moot point with online resources like Linda.com.

—Que pensez-vous de la vie sur d'autres planètes ?

—Oh jeez I hope so. Certainly spices things up.

—Qui sont vos héros ?

—My colleagues, for lifting my heavy, heavy camera bag up and down stairs and into the car innumerable times.

—Pour qui n'avez-vous aucun respect ?

—Paedophiles

—Que faites-vous pendant votre temps libre ?

—I punch through Netflix series like a karate master does bricks.

—Quel aspect de votre personnalité le public ne voit pas ?

—Lying around in pyjamas, no makeup, orange Dorito stained fingers, unshaved legs.

—Quand êtes-vous complètement satisfait de votre travail ?

—When a couple tells me they cried seeing the pictures. (With JOY).

—Croyez-vous en le traditionalisme des rôles de l'homme et de la femme ?

—There are definitely things men are better at, like being muscly and crushing rocks with their bare fists. And there are definitely things women are better at, like looking good in high heels and jean shorts.

—Vous faites-vous facilement des amis ?

—Yes

—Où aimeriez-vous vivre ?

—I'd love a couple of years in Istanbul. I'm a big fan!

—Quelle est la chose la plus stupide que vous ayez accepté ?

—To go on a VERY long bush walk, mere hours after getting home from a pub crawl.

—Existe-t-il une vie après le mariage ?

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Avez-vous une blague préférée ? Racontez-la.

—Any Gary Larson comic ever published. He might be the funniest man on earth.

—Préférez-vous les chats ou les chiens ?

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Qui ou que détestez-vous ?

—Celery. Eww

—La plus belle chose de la vie est :

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—La chose la plus ennuyeuse de la vie est :

—People farting next to you on flights.

—Changeriez-vous quelque chose autour de vous ?

—I'm about to try my hand at home renovation, in a very literal interpretation of that question!

—Que changeriez-vous chez vous ?

—I would love to learn Chinese. And sign language. And also do some pottery. And learn to ride horses. Probably should exercise more too.

—Que changeriez-vous dans le monde ?

—Let's turn down the level of racism shall we, it seems to be gaining momentum instead of losing it.

—Auriez-vous quelques astuces pour des photographes débutants ?

—Sure! Don't train yourself out of -not- shooting things. Such as the weird, or awkward, or funny or embarrassing moments. These are some of the greatest photographs you could take!

—Des extraterrestres arrivent sur Terre et vous êtes le premier à les rencontrer. Que leur dites-vous ?

—I guess I'd ask them if they wanted to join us for lunch, I know a good place...

—Vous êtes appelé pour tourner un film. De quel genre serait-il ?

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Demain, je vais aller faire...

—EDIT! Pat my cat. Email clients! Poke around the fridge and hope for the best. Print some albums! Look at memes!