Fotograf Adam Johnson

—Er du fotogen?

—I think everyone is photogenic. Just not everyone appreciates it the first time they see a photo of themselves. I'm the kind of person who grows to like photos of myself over time, rather than instantly loving them.

—Hvordan ble du en del av fotografbransjen?

—It just happened. I got married, bought a DSLR for my honeymoon, and became obsessed with it. I thought I was getting quite good, shot a friend's wedding (as a guest) and did a terrible job. So I went away, practised and studied super hard, bought better equipment then tried again. It went much better the second time and I was able to build a portfolio and website. 18 months later I quit my day job.

—Hva er de viktigste komponentene i et bra bilde etter din mening?

—If we are talking about a wedding photo then it's all about emotion. Light is my obsession, but a beautifully lit emotionless or 'mute' wedding photo is pointless. A photo has to speak for itself, it shouldn't need a caption or an explanation.

—Er du glad i å reise?

—Of course. And I love that wedding photography is showing me more of the world than I would ever have seen without it.

—Hva liker du best med yrket ditt?

—Freedom of expression. The more you shoot, the better you get, the more people hear about you and know about your work, the more freedom you are given to express yourself artistically. That and what I said about traveling in the last question!

—Hva liker du minst med yrket ditt?

—I am honestly grateful for this being my profession but of course, when you have young children at school, it can take its toll when you're out most weekends throughout the summer and not able to spend as much time with them as I would like.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ut for fotografering?

—Who knows?! I just hope I'm able to change and adapt to however it changes. I truly believe there will always be a market for beautiful, well crafted photos – the technology and expectations may change but the product will not.

—Hva er det spesielle med den fotografisjanger du har spesialisert deg i?

—People. That's what it's all about. People and relationships. Being invited into a private world and asked to document it for a day.

—Hvordan takler du kritikk?

—Badly. I do not like to be criticised. Often once it has sunk in I'm able to either reject or accept it and use it to improve, but I don't like it!

—Finnes det noen trender innen fotografering?

—Of course! I just prefer to ignore them.

—Hva bør kriteriene være for en kunde som skal velge en fotograf?

—If the photographer's photos of a total stranger's wedding can make you feel something in your heart and soul, you've found your wedding photographer.

—Hvilke ting er absolutt ikke tillatt under fotograferingen?

—There are no rules but I think each photographer will have their own principles or boundaries. If someone is crying because they are truly sad then I will not photograph them just to get that 'tear shot' that is so popular with wedding photographers these days. If I do not feel it is appropriate to shoot something, then I won't shoot it.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundre etter din mening?

—Can we answer this with 85 years of the century remaining?! I think there are so many medical and technological advances we will see in this century and I expect icons to be created in these areas.

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere?

—Ben Folds, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.

—Har du noen yrkesmessige tabuer?

—Not that I know of!

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere sammen med?

—Annie Leibowitz, Joey L, James Nachtwey, Don McCullin, Richard Avedon... I love to shoot with other photographers, I think it's a good thing to do regularly.

—Hva bekymrer deg, og hvorfor?

—I am a worrier. I worry about a lot of things! Professionally speaking I worry about becoming irrelevant, about getting stuck in a rut and left behind and nobody wanting me to take their wedding pictures!

—Hva er det mest imponerende øyeblikket i livet ditt?

—The births of my two children.

—Hvilken animert figur, literær person eller filmkarakter ville du vært, og hvorfor?

—Peter Pan. I want to stay young and always fight pirates.

—Hvem inspirerer deg i ditt liv, og hvorfor?

—I don't know if they inspire me as such but my children are the reason that I do what I do and why I want to continually get better at it. I am inspired by anyone successful – in business, in photography, in sport, in life... Not in an arrogant way but I find my own successes an inspiration to keep trying harder and to achieve more.

—Hvordan definerer du suksess? Hvordan måler du graden av suksess?

—For me, people booking me to shoot photos of them, plus the recognition of my work by my peers is probably my yardstick of success professionally. Happiness and contentment are signs of success in wider life.

—Foretrekker du å bli likt eller respektert?

—I don't think it's possible for me personally to respect somebody I don't like, so I don't think you can be one or the other. I can quickly lose respect for someone who turns out to be a huge douchebag.

—Hva er den største tabben du noensinne har gjort på jobben?

—I don't remember. I know I've made mistakes but I'm pretty good about moving on from stuff.

—Når du skal ut å reise; hva tar du med deg, og hvorfor?

—My iphone, my kindle, my macbook, my camera and some earphones.

—Er de noe blant dine gadgets du angrer på å ha kjøpt? Hvorfor?

—I tend to sell stuff if it doesn't fit into my life or work after I buy it. I remember I once bought a weird step trainer off an infomercial on the TV, it was so rubbish!

—Hvordan utdanner du deg for stadig å ta bedre bilder?

—Taking pictures is the education. I'm quite analytical so if I see a photo I like I work out what I like and why... I do the same with my own photos, working out how I could've done better or what I could've done differently. I look at other photography a lot – in books, online, instagram and I think that seeps into my work.

—Hvem sitt arbeid har inspirert deg mest som fotograf?

—I think a turning point for me was doing a workshop with Daniel Aguilar from Mexico.

—Hva spesifikt skulle du ønske at du visste da du begynte å fotografere?

—That there were no rules!

—Hva ønsker du å formidle gjennom dine bilder?

—I've no idea. Good stuff I hope.

—Hva motiverer deg til å fortsette med fotografering?

—The thing I love about taking photos, or any creative pursuit I guess is that it's just that – a pursuit – and you can never catch the thing you're chasing, but you're constantly improving, or changing at least. It's not static, or limited, or constrained. I know I've not taken my best photo, and I may never take it, but I will always keep striving for it.

—Skulle foreldrene dine ha vært mer eller mindre strenge?

—No comment.

—Hva ville du ha gjort annerledes hvis du kunne reise tilbake i tid?

—Nothing, I don't think of life this way. I got to this point in my life, a point in which I am extremely happy, because of the choices I made. I don't want to change anything.That, or I'd go back and invest in Apple before they invented the iPod.Or I could invent the iPod.

—Hva tenker du angående liv på andre planeter?

—Maybe, maybe not. I'm not concerned with it.

—Hvem er dine helter?

—I have no heroes.

—Hvem har du absolutt ingen respekt for?

—An awful question.

—Hva gjør du i fritiden din?

—I play piano, play and watch football, watch TV shows and movies, go to the gym, spend time with friends and family, listen to music...I don't see life as spare time and work time. It's just life. I do all this stuff and I work, there's no split time. I work when I have to and I play whenever I can.

—Hvilken side av deg viser du aldri offentlig?

—The public? As opposed to who?

—Når er du helt fornøyd med arbeidet ditt?

—I love my own work. I love seeing progression in my work. I love it when my clients are in love with the photos I give to them. Completely satisfied? Is this possible?

—Tror du på tradisjonelle manne- og kvinneroller?

—My parents got divorced when I was young. This has skewed my view of tradition in the home... I don't really know what traditional roles are – women raise children, cook and clean and men just earn the money? Then no, I don't believe in that. A family is the sum of its parts, not separate and distinct people or roles.

—Har du lett for å få nye venner?

—Yeah I guess. I'm never the instigator, I'm shy so I tend to wait for people to make friends with me!

—Hvor kunne du tenke deg å bo?

—If I could have four homes I would have one in the UK, probably near where I live now, one in New York City, a rural house in Southern France and one somewhere in California! Not that I'm greedy.

—Hva er de teiteste du noensinne har gått med på å gjøre?

—I'm not sure I've ever agreed to something stupid.

—Finnes det et liv etter bryllupet?

—I've been married 8 years... I'm still alive.

—Har du en favorittspøk? Fortell.

—What's invisible and smells like carrots?Rabbit farts.

—Liker du hunder eller katter?

—Neither.

—Hvem eller hva hater du?

—I hate wasps. Passionately.

—Det beste i livet er:

—Family time.

—Det mest irriterende i livet er:

—Traffic jams.

—Er det noe omkring du kunne tenkt deg å forandre på?

—I want to make my house bigger!

—Hva hos deg selv kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—I would like to break my iphone addiction!

—Hva i verden kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—Far too much to list. The world is a broken place.

—Kan du komme med noen gode råd til fotografer i startfasen?

—You don't have to shoot every second of the wedding, you're not making a stop motion movie... Slow down, breathe, let your mind take in what is happening then tell the story with your photos. There are no rules.

—Forestill deg at romvesener ankommer jorda, og at du er den første de treffer. Hva ville du sagt til dem?

—You will never feel satisfied after eating a McDonalds...

—Hvis du ble spurt om å spille inn en film, hvilken sjanger ville den være?

—Slapstick comedy.

—I morgen skal jeg...

—I'll go to the gym, do some editing, get ready for Saturday's wedding, kick a football with my children, eat food, drink coffee...