Fotograf Gina Stef

—Er du fotogen?

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

—Hvordan ble du en del av fotografbransjen?

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

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

—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 :)

—Er du glad i å reise?

—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.

—Hva liker du best med yrket ditt?

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

—Hva liker du minst med yrket ditt?

—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!

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ut for fotografering?

—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.

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

—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.

—Hvordan takler du kritikk?

—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.

—Finnes det noen trender innen fotografering?

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

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

—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.

—Hvilke ting er absolutt ikke tillatt under fotograferingen?

—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.

—Hvilke detaljer, som vanligvis ingen ville lagt merke til, kan en fotograf fange opp?

—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.

—Hva påvirker bildets verdi? Hvilke elementer inneholder det?

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

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

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

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere?

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

—Har du noen yrkesmessige tabuer?

—Yes, to never disappoint our clients!

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere sammen med?

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

—Hva bekymrer deg, og hvorfor?

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

—Hva er det mest imponerende øyeblikket i livet ditt?

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

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

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

—Hvem inspirerer deg i ditt liv, og hvorfor?

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

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

—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.

—Foretrekker du å bli likt eller respektert?

—Both, of course!

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

—I made only small mistakes :)

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

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

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

—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.

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

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

—Hvem sitt arbeid har inspirert deg mest som fotograf?

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

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

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

—Hva ønsker du å formidle gjennom dine bilder?

—People are beautiful!

—Hva motiverer deg til å fortsette med fotografering?

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

—Skulle foreldrene dine ha vært mer eller mindre strenge?

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

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

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

—Hva tenker du angående liv på andre planeter?

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

—Hvem er dine helter?

—Lebowski from "The Big Lebowski" film!

—Hvem har du absolutt ingen respekt for?

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

—Hva gjør du i fritiden din?

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

—Hvilken side av deg viser du aldri offentlig?

—I'd have to kill you...

—Når er du helt fornøyd med arbeidet ditt?

—Never!

—Tror du på tradisjonelle manne- og kvinneroller?

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

—Har du lett for å få nye venner?

—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.

—Hvor kunne du tenke deg å bo?

—San Francisco, some 50 years ago.

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

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

—Finnes det et liv etter bryllupet?

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

—Har du en favorittspøk? Fortell.

—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!"

—Liker du hunder eller katter?

—Both, but mostly cats.

—Hvem eller hva hater du?

—Ignorance and arrogance together.

—Det beste i livet er:

—Combining your hobby and your job.

—Det mest irriterende i livet er:

—Having a job and a hobby-job :)

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

—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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—Some moody drama

—I morgen skal jeg...

—some portraits, for sure!