Fotograaf Tatsiana Avakyan

—Ten eerste - wie beschouwt u als de beste fotograaf in Gotenburg, Zweden? :)

—This is a hard question, isn's it? It depends on so many aspects like style, editing, way you work with couple, vision, etc. I personally have some favourites whose works I admire, but I am keeping as a secret, I am letting everyone else to choose for themselves.

—Bent u fotogeniek?

—From my childhood I have this idea in my head that I look horrible on pictures... you know fake smile from your first schoolbook picture? I generally consider myself as a non photogenic person. But I believe that anyone can look good on pictures if camera is in right hands.

—Hoe bent u beland in de fotografie-industrie?

—It all started in 2012, when I took my first dslr camera to my brothers wedding. I was following the photographer as her assistant, trying to find interesting angles, watching her work with the couple, asking million questions (I can only imagine how annoyed she must have been). I managed to take 3 really nice portraits from that day, which I still like now. This was how it all begun.

—Wat zijn volgens u de belangrijkste elementen van een goede foto?

—Right composition, perfect light, moment and colour are basics of great photo; following these points and combining them in one image, will always end up in an attractive picture.

—Houdt u van reizen?

—I definitely do, traveling is always fun for me. It doesn't matter if I go to another country or closest city. Traveling is experience, time for thoughts and always learning new things.

—Wat vindt u het leukst aan uw beroep?

—I guess being a part of someone's happy day is already joyful in itself. It's amazing to be able to capture couple's emotions on wedding day, see them in love, see them on top of their happiness. Another favourite part of being a wedding photographer is constantly meeting new people, communicating, learning their stories.

—Wat vindt u het minst leuk aan uw beroep?

—There is definitely nothing that I hate about it. And I can't really think of something I dislike, but I guess as any usual job, being a photographer has its own difficulties, hmm let's say like carrying around heavy bags full of equipment.

—Wat ziet u de toekomst van fotografie?

—Classics will always stay classics! There obviously will be new trends appearing, changing constantly to something new on and on, but I know most definitely that classic pictures will always be on top.

—Wat is er bijzonder aan het fotografiegenre waarin u zich specialiseert?

—Wedding is a one of kind thing, you can't rewind, ask someone to repeat their actions, you have to be here and now! this particular moment, you have to be alert and ready for your best shot.

—Hoe gaat u om met kritiek?

—Constructive criticism is they key to improvement!

—Zijn er bepaalde trends in fotografie?

—Yes, most definitely there are, they are changing every season to keep wedding industry alive, new and interesting.

—Welke criteria moet de klant hanteren bij het kiezen van een fotograaf?

—They should love the majority of photographer's works, they should feel like these are the images that they would like to have, they need to agree with photographer's style not to be disappointed when they will receive pictures.

—Wat is er totaal uit den boze bij het fotograferen?

—Ruining the moment to get a picture!

—Welke details die vaak onopgemerkt gaan, kan een fotograaf vastleggen?

—It's the morning before wedding, normally guests are not involved into this part of the day. Photographer can capture all the exciting moments before the ceremony.

—Wat beïnvloedt de waarde van een foto? Wat zijn de elementen ervan?

—It's uniqueness, the moment, feelings and composition of course.

—Welke persoon kan volgens u symbool staan voor de 21e eeuw?

—In each era there is one, but it's too early to judge yet.

—Wie wil u graag fotograferen?

—Grace Jones is number 1 on my list

—Wie inspireert u in uw leven en waarom?

—I've never had a muse or an idol to look up to, I always try to take inspiration from people around me; there is always something we can borrow as an example from each other

—Hoe definieert u succes? Hoe meet u het?

—Success is being respected, feeling good about what you are doing, enjoying your job, feeling happy.

—Wat neemt u mee op reis en waarom?

—I normally take just most necessary things to avoid having and extremely heavy bag, but of course my camera is number one to take with me!

—Is er iets dat u liever niet gekocht had tussen de gadgets die u bezit? Waarom?

—Fish eye lens! Bought in in 2014 for some reason, thought I could do some fun things with it, but it turned out to be totally not my style, so I sold it few months after.

—Hoe leert u bij om betere foto's te maken?

—Reading articles, trying they things with camera, shooting often.

—Wat had u graag geweten toen u begon als fotograaf?

—Business and marketing, boring but useful!

—Wat motiveert u om foto's te blijven maken?

—Willingness to improve!

—Wat zou u anders doen als u in de tijd kon terugkeren?

—If to speak about my life events I would choose to study a different subject in university and would go in photography even earlier then I did.

—Wat denkt u over leven op andere planeten?

—Hell's yeah!

—Wanneer bent u helemaal tevreden over uw werk?

—When reality exceeded my expectations.

—Gelooft u in een traditionele rolverdeling voor man en vrouw?

—I believe in gender equality!

—Wat is het domste waarmee u ooit akkoord bent gegaan?

—I have done too many!

—Is er een leven na het huwelijk?

—Yes definitely! Wedding is just another event in your relationship. So if you focus on each other and keep caring for your partner it will get better and better day by day.

—Het beste in het leven is:

—People who surround me.

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan de wereld?

—If I could, I would erase racism from face of the Earth.

—Kan u tips geven voor beginnende fotografen?

—Start out as an assistant! Practice a lot on couple photoshoots, not necessarily wedding, learn how to work with 2 people in picture.

—Als buitenaardse wezens naar de Aarde komen en u bent de eerste persoon die ze ontmoeten, wat zal u hen dan zeggen?

—''May I take a picture of you?''

—Morgen zal ik ... doen

—Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Edit! Edit! Edit!