Fotografo Gina Stef

—Sei fotogenico?

—Yes I am, but only when i'm not posing.

—Come sei entrato nell'industria della fotografia?

—I wanted to do something else with my photos, to bring more joy to happy couples.

—Secondo te, quali sono le componenti più importanti di una bella foto?

—It has to capture the moment. When the bride cries, when the groom laughs at her or when the people at the wedding just go crazy :)

—Ti piace viaggiare?

—Absolutely YES! We love meeting new and interesting couples and we're eager to take their photos in an unknown location. This is also a big challenge, to take improvised great photos of them in a place we've never been before.

—Che cosa ti piace di più nella tua professione?

—Every wedding is a challenge and we love challenges! Meeting new people and "clicking" on their wedding ideas is great!

—Che cosa ti piace di meno nella tua professione?

—Sometimes it's the long hours of a wedding here in Romania that get to us, but after all if the newlyweds are still having fun at 2 a.m. in the morning, we'll hop in and have fun with them!

—Quale sarà il futuro della fotografia?

—Nowadays if you don't know Photoshop you're like dead in the water. Photography won't change much, as opposed to the way we as photographers will present the final result to our clients.

—Cosa c'è di speciale nel genere di fotografia in cui sei specializzato?

—Before any event we always have butterflies in our stomachs and that's a good thing, because it pushes us further. We love the rush of the events and the general happiness of the people attending the wedding.

—Come gestisci la critica?

—We try to prevent it, usually we under-promise and over-deliver. If by any chance our clients are not fully satisfied, we communicate on what's wrong and we try to correct that.

—Ci sono determinate tendenze nella fotografia?

—The vintage, chabby-chic trends are on fire! And we love them, all the decors give a wedding a great feel!

—Quali criteri dovrebbe utilizzare un cliente per scegliere un fotografo?

—On the initial meeting, they should analyze whether they "click" with the photographer. If you're not on the same mindset, then you might as well find another one.

—Che cosa non è ammesso durante la ripresa fotografica?

—It all comes down to common-sense. A wedding photographer is not (or should not) seek the tabloid-like, outrageous pictures. He/she should always comply with the client's wishes and demands.

—Quali dettagli, che solitamente passano inosservati, riesce a notare un fotografo?

—It's that split-second facial expression on somebody's face, or some short event that nobody saw because they were focused on the bride and groom.

—Che cosa influisce sul valore di una foto? Quali sono le sue componenti?

—I think it's all about the "feel". No matter how you composed it, no matter how blurry it is.

—Secondo te, chi può essere considerato simbolo del XXI secolo?

—It's difficult to assess, since social media is huge nowadays and everybody's a celebrity.

—Che cosa vorresti fotografare?

—We would like to shoot a tattooed open-minded rockers couple, in Moab, Utah :)

—Hai qualche tabù professionale?

—Yes, to never disappoint our clients!

—Con chi vorresti fare una sessione di ripresa fotografica?

—It would be a dream to shoot with Sergey Ivanov, Sal Cincotta or Aaron Nace!

—Che cosa ti fa preoccupare e perché?

—I always worry that we won't be able to satisfy all our clients' needs. But so far, so good.

—Qual è stato il momento più impressionante della tua vita?

—Traveling through the U.S. and admiring the cities, the breweries, the landscapes and all the beautiful people!

—Se tu fossi un personaggio di cartone animato, libro o film, chi saresti e perché?

—When I was little I looked like Betty Boop so...

—Chi ti ispira nella vita e perché?

—I see inspiration all around, it's hard to pinpoint something.

—Come puoi definire il successo? Come si misura?

—I thing it's a sum of the opinions of the people who met you. If most of the opinions are great, you could consider yourself a successful person.

—Preferiresti essere amato o rispettato?

—Both, of course!

—Qual è stato il più grande errore che hai commesso nel lavoro?

—I made only small mistakes :)

—Preparandoti per partire, che cosa metteresti in valigia e perché?

—My husband, our cameras and leave behind everything else.

—Tra i gadget che possiedi, c'è qualcosa che vorresti non aver comprato? Perché?

—Along the way there has been some trial and error, some gadgets failed and some we still have, but I guess we shouldn't have bought a Wii U console and a 2x extender.

—Che formazione professionale segui per fare fotografie migliori?

—Through inspiration on the web, brainstorming with friends and talks with clients.

—Il lavoro di chi ha avuto la maggiore influenza su di te come fotografo?

—I wish Sergey Ivanov influenced me, but I couldn't rise to that level :)

—Qual è l'unica cosa che vorresti aver saputo iniziando a scattare foto?

—That "anything flies" if you have a story behind it.

—Che cosa vuoi dire con le tue fotografie?

—People are beautiful!

—Qual è la tua motivazione per continuare a scattare fotografie?

—The satisfaction of our clients and money, of course.

—Pensi che i tuoi genitori avrebbero dovuto essere più o meno severi?

—At times I wanted them to be less of a pain, but it turns out that I turned out just fine!

—Se potessi tornare nel passato, che cosa faresti in modo diverso?

—Listen to rock music earlier, read more and move to another city sooner.

—Che cosa pensi della vita su altri pianeti?

—I can't wait to have an alien friend!

—Chi sono i tuoi eroi?

—Lebowski from "The Big Lebowski" film!

—Per che cosa non hai rispetto?

—People who don't have any hobby, any taste in anything, any opinion of their own.

—Che cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero?

—I love calligraphy and everything hand made, I try to do as much as I can, apart from editing photos.

—Quale lato di te non è mai visibile al pubblico?

—I'd have to kill you...

—Quando ti senti completamente soddisfatto dal tuo lavoro?

—Never!

—Credi nei ruoli tradizionali di donne e uomini?

—I'm not a feminist, but no, I do not believe in these stereotypes.

—Fai facilmente amicizia?

—I'd say that I do, but some would say that I keep to myself a lot. I only make friends with the people which inspire me and help me evolve, by having interesting argumentative conversations.

—Dove ti piacerebbe vivere?

—San Francisco, some 50 years ago.

—Qual è stata la cosa più stupida che hai accettato di fare?

—I have a problem with saying "no" to things. But I'm working on that.

—Esiste la vita dopo il matrimonio?

—Of course. If you don't make a child right away. Or never.

—Hai uno scherzo preferito? Raccontacelo.

—It's a photographers' joke, of course:
So there's a dinner party. A photographer's talking to the host. She says to him: "Mr. Photographer, I love your work! You must have a great camera!" The photographer doesn't respond. But at the dinner table, after taking a bite, the photographer says to the host: "Oh, this food is delicious! You must have a terrific oven!"

—Ti piacciono i cani o i gatti?

—Both, but mostly cats.

—Chi o che cosa odi?

—Ignorance and arrogance together.

—La cosa migliore nella vita è:

—Combining your hobby and your job.

—La cosa più fastidiosa nella vita è:

—Having a job and a hobby-job :)

—C'è qualcosa intorno a te che vorresti cambiare?

—I would love it if the hobby would stay just hobby, not having to deal with contracts, invoices, bills to pay... This narrows the creativity, the whole "professional" side of photography.

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare in te stesso?

—I would like to learn to say NO and not bite more than I can chew.

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare nel mondo?

—If only money disappeared, people will start being people again.

—Puoi dare alcuni consigli ai fotografi alle prime armi?

—Take lots of photos, then analyze them and develop your own style. And most importantly, never stop!

—Se gli alieni dovessero arrivare sulla Terra e tu fossi la prima persona ad incontrarli, che cosa diresti?

—Most surely they won't understand a word, but I'll beg them to share some wisdom here on Earth!

—Se dovessi essere invitato a girare un film, di che genere sarebbe?

—Some moody drama

—Domani vado a fare...

—some portraits, for sure!