Fotogrāfs Gina Stef

—Vai Tu esi fotogēnisks?

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

—Kā tu nokļuvi fotogrāfijas jomā?

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

—Kuri, Tavuprāt, ir svarīgākie labas fotogrāfijas elementi?

—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 :)

—Vai Tu mīli ceļošanu?

—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.

—Kas Tev vislabāk patīk savā profesijā?

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

—Kas Tavā profesijā Tev patīk vismazāk?

—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!

—Kāda būs fotogrāfijas nākotne?

—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.

—Kas ir īpašs fotogrāfijas žanrā, kurā specializējies?

—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.

—Kā Tu uztver kritiku?

—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.

—Vai fotogrāfijā ir kādas īpašas tendences?

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

—Kādi ir kritēriji, kas klientam jāņem vērā, izvēloties fotogrāfu?

—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.

—No kā fotogrāfējot būtu jāizvairās?

—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.

—Kādus parasti nepamanītus brīžus var notvert fotogrāfs?

—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.

—Kas ietekmē fotogrāfijas vērtību? Kādi ir tās elementi?

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

—Kurš cilvēks, Tavuprāt, varētu būt 21. gadsimta simbols?

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

—Ko Tu vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

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

—Vai Tev ir kādi profesionālie tabu?

—Yes, to never disappoint our clients!

—Ar ko Tu kopā vēlētos fotogrāfēt?

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

—Par ko Tu satraucies un kāpēc?

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

—Kas ir Tavas dzīves iespaidīgakais brīdis?

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

—Ja Tu būtu multfilmas, grāmatas vai filmas varonis, kurš tas būtu un kāpēc?

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

—Kas Tevi iedvesmo dzīvē un kāpēc?

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

—Kā Tu definētu veiksmi? Vai to var izmērīt?

—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.

—Vai Tev labāk patīk tikt mīlētam vai tikt cienītam?

—Both, of course!

—Kas ir lielākā kļūda, ko Tu esi pieļāvis darbā?

—I made only small mistakes :)

—Kad Tu plāno ceļot, ko Tu ņem līdzi un kāpēc?

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

—Vai kāda ierīcēm (gadžetiem), kas Tev pieder, ir tāda, kuru Tev nebūtu vajadzējis pirkt? Kāpēc?

—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.

—Kā Tu mācies, lai uzņemtu arvien labākas fotogrāfijas?

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

—Kuri darbi Tevi kā fotogrāfu ir visvairāk iedvesmojuši?

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

—Kas ir tā lieta, ko Tu būtu gribējis zināt pirms sāki nodarboties ar fotogrāfēšanu?

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

—Ko Tu vēlies pastāstīt ar savām fotogrāfijām?

—People are beautiful!

—Kas Tevi motivē turpināt uzņemt fotogrāfijas?

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

—Vai Tavi vecāki bija stringri vai netik stingri?

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

—Ja Tu varētu ceļot atpakaļ laikā, ko Tu darītu savādāk?

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

—Ko Tu domā par dzīvi uz citām planētām?

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

—Kas ir Tavi varoņi?

—Lebowski from "The Big Lebowski" film!

—Ko Tu necieni?

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

—Ko Tu dari brīvajā laikā?

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

—Kuru Tavu pusi citi nekad neredz?

—I'd have to kill you...

—Kad Tu esi pilnībā apmierināts ar savu darbu?

—Never!

—Vai Tu tici tradicionālajam lomu sadalījumam starp vīrieti un sievieti?

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

—Vai Tu vienkārši sadraudzējies?

—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.

—Kur Tu vēlētos dzīvot?

—San Francisco, some 50 years ago.

—Kas ir muļķīgākā lieta, ko Tu jebkad esi piekritis izdarīt?

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

—Vai pastāv dzīve pēc kāzām?

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

—Vai Tev ir mīļākais joks? Pastāsti to mums.

—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!"

—Kas Tev patīk labāk - kaķi vai suņi?

—Both, but mostly cats.

—Vai ir kaut kas vai kāds, ko Tu ienīsti?

—Ignorance and arrogance together.

—Labākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—Combining your hobby and your job.

—Kaitinošākā lieta dzīvē ir:

—Having a job and a hobby-job :)

—Vai ir kaut kas tāds, ko Tu vēlētos mainīt?

—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.

—Ko Tu gribētu mainīt sevī?

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

—Ko Tu vēlētos mainīt pasaulē?

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

—Kādi būtu Tavi padomi jaunajiem fotogrāfiem?

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

—Ja uz zemes nolaistos citplanētieši un Tu būtu pirmais, ko viņi satiktu, ko Tu viņiem teiktu?

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

—Ja Tev būtu iespēja uzņemt filmu, kāda žanra filma tā būtu?

—Some moody drama

—Rīt es aiziešu un izdarīšu...

—some portraits, for sure!