Fotografo Steve Grogan

—Prima di tutto - chi puoi definire come il miglior fotografo di Manchester, Regno Unito? :)

—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!

—Sei fotogenico?

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

—Come sei entrato nell'industria della fotografia?

—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!

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

—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.

—Ti piace viaggiare?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di più nella tua professione?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di meno nella tua professione?

—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.

—Quale sarà il futuro della fotografia?

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

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

—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.

—Come gestisci la critica?

—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.

—Ci sono determinate tendenze nella fotografia?

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

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

—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.

—Che cosa non è ammesso durante la ripresa fotografica?

—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.

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

—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.

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

—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.

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

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Che cosa vorresti fotografare?

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

—Che cosa ti fa preoccupare e perché?

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

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

—Bananaman.

—Come puoi definire il successo? Come si misura?

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

—Preferiresti essere amato o rispettato?

—A bit of both.

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

—I travel light.

—Che formazione professionale segui per fare fotografie migliori?

—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?

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

—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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

—Che cosa pensi della vita su altri pianeti?

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

—Che cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero?

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

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

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

—Fai facilmente amicizia?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Dove ti piacerebbe vivere?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Hai uno scherzo preferito? Raccontacelo.

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

—Ti piacciono i cani o i gatti?

—Dogs.

—Chi o che cosa odi?

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

—Domani vado a fare...

—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.