Jurufoto Steve Grogan

—Pertama sekali – siapakah yang boleh anda namakan sebagai jurufoto terbaik di Manchester, United Kingdom? :)

—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!

—Adakah anda seorang yang fotogenik?

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

—Bagaimanakah anda mula menceburkan diri dalam industri fotografi?

—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!

—Apakah komponen paling penting sekeping foto yang bagus menurut pendapat anda?

—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.

—Adakah anda minat mengembara?

—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.

—Apakah yang paling anda sukai mengenai kerjaya anda?

—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.

—Apakah yang paling anda tidak suka mengenai kerjaya anda?

—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.

—Apakah masa depan fotografi?

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

—Apakah yang istimewa dalam genre fotografi yang anda sedang mengkhusus?

—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.

—Bagaimanakah cara anda menangani kritikan?

—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.

—Adakah wujud sebarang trend dalam fotografi?

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

—Apakah sepatutnya menjadi kriteria untuk seorang pelanggan memilih jurufoto?

—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.

—Apakah perkara yang patut dielakkan semasa penggambaran?

—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.

—Apakah perincian yang selalunya terlepas tanpa disedari namun boleh disedari oleh seorang jurufoto?

—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.

—Apakah yang boleh mempengaruhi nilai sekeping foto? Apakah elemen nilai itu?

—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.

—Siapakah individu yang boleh menjadi simbol abad ke-21 menurut pendapat anda?

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Siapakah yang mahu anda rakamkan dalam foto?

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

—Apakah yang merisaukan anda, dan mengapa?

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

—Jika anda ialah karakter dalam kartun, buku atau filem, siapakah yang anda ingin jadi dan kenapa?

—Bananaman.

—Bagaimanakah anda mentakrifkan kejayaan? Bagaimanakah anda mengukurnya?

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

—Mana satu yang lebih penting bagi anda, disukai atau dihormati?

—A bit of both.

—Apabila anda pergi mengembara, apakah yang anda bawa bersama anda dan mengapa?

—I travel light.

—Bagaimanakah anda meningkatkan diri untuk merakam gambar yang lebih baik?

—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?

—Hasil kerja siapakah yang paling mempengaruhi anda sebagai jurufoto?

—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.

—Apakah yang memotivasikan anda untuk terus mengambil gambar?

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

—Bukankah ibu bapa anda pada satu tahap patut bertegas?

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

—Jika anda boleh kembali ke masa lalu, apakah yang akan ada lakukan dengan cara berbeza?

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

—Bagaimanakah kehidupan di planet lain?

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

—Apakah yang anda lakukan pada masa lapang?

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

—Apakah sisi diri anda yang tidak pernah diketahui umum?

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

—Adakah anda mudah berkawan?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Di manakah anda suka untuk tinggal?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Adakah anda ada lawak kegemaran? Beritahu kami.

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

—Anda suka anjing atau kucing?

—Dogs.

—Siapakah atau apakah yang anda tidak suka?

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

—Esok saya akan pergi dan melakukan...

—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.