Fotograaf Jo-Ann Stokes

—Bent u fotogeniek?

—Unfortunately not ....but probably best that I am not because it makes me try extra hard to make my couples feel comfortable in front of the lens and capture beautiful photographs that they will love of themselves.

—Hoe bent u beland in de fotografie-industrie?

—Purely by accident to be honest! My trip into photography started by documenting my life, my kids and then into landscape photography. A friend saw my photos, told her friend who was getting married and they contacted me and asked me to do their wedding. I explained that I had never done a wedding but they were fine with that. I loved it ....and the rest ...is history! And my first clients are still one of my biggest fans!

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

—A photograph that touches your soul ...no matter the composition, the editing etc ...that makes for a good photo ...no actually, that makes for a "great" photo ....but if all you want is good ..then good composition, good lighting and good posing would make a good photo .....I continuously strive to take a "great" photo.

—Houdt u van reizen?

—Do you seriously have to ask? I "love" to travel ...it feeds my soul, opens my eyes, enriches my life and makes me appreciate everything that God created for us.

—Wat vindt u het leukst aan uw beroep?

—The creativity ...if you can visualise it ....you can photograph it! The continious learning curve....there are new things to learn all the time! I am continiously challenged and excited by my profession.

—Wat vindt u het minst leuk aan uw beroep?

—The admin!! Wish we were taking photographs 100% of the time ...unfortunately its only a small portion of our workload. And selling myself ...I find it so hard to do!

—Wat ziet u de toekomst van fotografie?

—There will alwasy be a future for wedding photography ...people will continously fall in love and want to get married and start families of that I have no doubt ....I think how we photograph weddings will stay fundamentally the same ..but the way we grab our image might change. I see change coming in the fact that we will film the wedding and grab our photographs from the video ...and I am excited about that because a hair breadth of a second can make all the difference to an image.

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

—Wedding photography is special because it makes you forget all the bad things in the world for a few brief moments. It makes you believe that the world is all rosy, full of love and that there is bright future ahead and there is truth in fairytales and the "happy ever after"

—Hoe gaat u om met kritiek?

—Well I am a creative ...so lets just say ...it can hurt! But I am also open-minded so I can take a step back and look at it through that persons eyes and see if their criticism is valuable. Good criticism is worth its weight in gold!

—Zijn er bepaalde trends in fotografie?

—There are always trends in photography! The question needs to be asked ..how will your images look in 30 years ...will the trend stand the test of time. Quality, timeless photography will never date.

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

—Initially the couple should love the photography ...it should speak to them. But the most important criteria is that you like your photographer and feel comfortable with them....you will spend a large part of your day with this person in your space ..its best that you like them.

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

—Cheesy!

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

—We can see moments that develop and are waiting for them to happen.

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

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

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

—The co-founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And our very own, Nelson Mandela!

—Wie wil u graag fotograferen?

—My next bride!

—Heeft u bepaalde taboes op professioneel vlak?

—One or two ...nudity is not my thing!

—Met wie zou u graag fotograferen?

—Thats a tough one ...Jose Villa, ..I love his pastel, airy, film look but I also love the dark, moody look from Susan Stripling.

—Waar maakt u zich zorgen over en waarom?

—I worry about my children ...I am first and foremost a Mom! From a wedding photographers perspective ..that I lose a wedding due to faulty cards, crashing computers & harddrives. I have made every provision to safeguard my clients weddings but it is natural to worry about their images.

—Wat is het meest indrukwekkende moment van uw leven?

—The birth of my sons. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison to those moments.

—Als u een personage van een cartoon, boek of film was, wie zou u dan zijn?

—I am enjoying the character, Elizabeth McCord from Madam Secretary at the moment. She handles problems with intelligence, respect and sensitivity in very fragile situations.

—Wie inspireert u in uw leven en waarom?

—My family inspire me ...they inspire me to be better...they inspire me to prove to them that life is for living and that you make your own destiny with the choices and decisions that you make. Every action has a reaction. Mistakes are not always bad as the experience it teaches you is sometimes more valuable that getting something 100% correct.

—Hoe definieert u succes? Hoe meet u het?

—A successful person is a person who has balance in their life! A happy marriage, family life & career ..is my definition of success! Only having a successful career with money in the bank ...can make for a very lonely/empty life.

—Bent u liever graag gezien of gerespecteerd?

—Neither ....I would prefer to be loved!

—Wat is de grootste fout die u ooit begaan heeft op professioneel vlak?

—When I worked in banking ....I paid a rather large sum of money into the wrong persons account!

—Wat neemt u mee op reis en waarom?

—My camera and a lens ...do I need anything more?

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

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

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

—I attend workshops, watch videos, practice, practice, practice!

—Wiens werk heeft u het meest beïnvloed als fotograaf?

—Many of my photographer friends have in their own small way influenced me. Each one has at some stage dropped a pearl of wisdom on my eager ears.

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

—I initially started to play around with a camera when i was a teenager ...I wish I had figured out then, that this was the career that I loved.

—Wat wil u graag zeggen met uw foto's?

—I am not big into props ....I prefer the people in my photographs to be the focal point. It is their essence, emotions that tell the story.

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

—I dont think there is anything that motivates me to continue to take photos ....I think it is an extension of who I am ...even when I dont have my camera with me ...I am still framing photos in my eye and taking a mental photo of a scene.

—Hadden uw ouders strenger of minder streng moeten zijn?

—They were perfect. I like the way I turned out ...lol!

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

—Nothing ...if i went back in time to change anything ...then my outcome might be very different to where I am now ....and I kind of like where I am now. And if I had actually done photography from a teenager then my people skills would not have been developed. I believe there was a reason for only discovering my love for photography later on.

—Wat denkt u over leven op andere planeten?

—Possible ...but have no interest in finding out ...its bad enough controlling the human race that we have here ...we sure as heck dont need the headache of another race somewhere else.

—Wie zijn uw helden?

—There are no heroes ....everyone is only human ...we all err on this road we call life. There are people who I respect i.e Nelson Mandela, FW De Klerk, Mother Theresa, Pope Francis, Thuli Madonsela

—Voor wie kan u geen respect opbrengen?

—Dictators, bad politicians, criminals, children and animal abusers! Our president, Jacob Zuma, Stupidity, Robert Mugabe.

—Wat doet u in uw vrije tijd?

—My hubby has a Harley Davidson motorbike and we often will go on road trips around the Cape and needless to say ...I take photos. I enjoy socialising with fellow photographers. I walk in a farm close to my house with my dogs.

—Welke kant van u krijgt het publiek niet te zien?

—They dont see me stressed or worried. I show a calm face to the outside world and behind the scenes I make a plan. I also have a wicked sense of humour that I try to keep in check.

—Wanneer bent u helemaal tevreden over uw werk?

—I wish I knew the answer ...then i would create a formula and stick to it ..but there again then I might end up being bored!

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

—Yes and no ....I believe women can do anything they put their minds too ...but I also believe that men are traditionally the hunters and do not enjoy being the hunted. Let them enjoy the chase.

—Maakt u gemakkelijk vrienden?

—Very easily. I can chat to complete strangers wherever I am.

—Waar zou u graag wonen?

—If I couldnt live in Cape Town for whatever reason ...then I would go to the next extreme and live in London ...but only if I had a lot of money ;)

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

—A nude shoot

—Is er een leven na het huwelijk?

—lol ...yes, definitely! I have done more and had more fun with my husband than with any other human being. He is the one who has my back, who I rely on, who I can be real with, who accepts me for who I am ...who will look after me when I am sick or sad ....to lend a Greys Anatomy line ..."he is my person" ...but yes there were times when I could have lovingly strangled his neck..he definitely still knows how to push my buttons!

—Heeft u een favoriete mop? Vertel ...

—Yes ..I do ...but I think it might be a bit too dirty for a wedding blog ...especially for people considering getting married ...lol! Only old married couples would find it amusing!

—Houdt u van honden of van katten?

—Dogs ...grew up with them all my life! My dad was allergic to cats ..so was never allowed to have one ....so not too sure if I would have loved cats more!

—Wie of wat haat u?

—People who are rigid and the world is black and white and do not see outside the box.

—Het beste in het leven is:

—free!

—Het vervelendste in het leven is:

—People who do not listen

—Is er iets rondom u dat u graag zou veranderen?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan uzelf?

—I wish I had more time!

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan de wereld?

—Evil

—Kan u tips geven voor beginnende fotografen?

—Be unique ...find your own style ....do not be like sheep and copy everyone else! Trust in the way you see the world ..you will develop!

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

—If you know whats good for you ...turn around and run in the opposite direction

—U wordt gevraagd om een film te maken, welk genre wordt het?

—A romance or a drama

—Morgen zal ik ... doen

—some food shopping, a maternity shoot, some editing ...watch our national rugby team , the Springboks play their first game at the Rugby World Cup 15 in England against Japan!