Fotoğrafçı Federico Guendel

—Fotojenik olduğunuzu düşünüyor musunuz?

—Good one! Ana and I often get asked by other photographers from all over the world to pose for them for their portfolios in Paris. Not sure if that means that we are photogenic, we are just different and that is always fun to photograph.

—Fotoğrafçılık endüstrisine nasıl giriş yaptınız?

—My wife has had a wedding photography business in Austria before we even met and I was working in fashion photography. Once we tied the knot and moved to Paris it was just a natural thing for me to join forces with her and now we work as a tandem. Every single photo we deliver gets shot by either of us, color corrected by Ana and then skin retouched by me to the fashion photography standard.

—Sizce iyi bir fotoğrafın en önemli bileşenleri nelerdir?

—As an avid cinema lover I'm fascinated with capturing emotion in a cinematographic way. The true connection read in the photograph in one frozen in time moment for me is what makes a good photograph. It has to tell a story and reflect the character of people in it. If it we up to me I wouldn't care for the backdrop, but working in Paris it's a fine line between architecture vs the couple in it. Still discovering my way to tell the best narrative while also focussing on the backdrop to it.

—Seyahat etmeyi sever misiniz?

—Yes! Being from Costa Rica I have lived in Sweden, Canada, the US, Austria and now France, my wife is Russian and she lived in Italy, Germany and Austria before we met. In between the two of us we speak 6 languages, so traveling is a way of live for us and we enjoy it immensely.

—Mesleğinizle ilgili en sevdiğiniz şey nedir?

—That's an easy one – making people happy!

—Mesleğinizin en zor tarafı nedir?

—Time! The reality of the fact that time is a finite resource and catering mostly to travellers we often have to say no to a couple who otherwise would be a perfect fit because another perfect fit has already booked their date. I think saying no in general is the hardest thing for me as a wedding professional!

—Fotoğrafçılığının geleceği konusunda neler düşünüyorsunuz?

—In the past wedding photography has been a narrow field but now with the advancement of technology and wider variety of choices there are so many paths to develop. Film photography has made a big and luxurious comeback. Social media and search engine optimisation have made it more difficult to shine with just the photos and make us work that much harder on being great marketers too. What my hope is that in the sea of voices and choices it would still be possible for each bride to connect with her perfect storyteller of a photographer, but how only future will show.

—Uzmanlaştığınız fotoğrafçılık türünü özel kılan şey nedir?

—A wedding is a special moment for me when a couple come together in a celebration of what makes them different, defines their choices as individuals and shows all the points two people connect and blend in their unique way. Capturing all the little details and emotions of what makes that couple different from any other couple is what makes wedding photography as epitome of a lovestory magical for me.

—Eleştiriler karşısında yaklaşımınız nasıl oluyor?

—To quote a comedian "I was raised up to be an insult navy seal" – nothing gets under my skin. I don't mind any opinion and I will always try to get constructive criticism from it.

—Fotoğrafçılığı ile ilgili yeni trendler var mı?

—My favorite two are the return of film photography and the return of the vintage film looks driven by the creations of VSCO and MastinLabs.

—Müşteriler fotoğrafçı seçerken ne gibi kriterleri göz önünde bulundurmalıdırlar?

—The very first one – can they see themselves as the people in the photos in the portfolio of this photographer. Second, when they talk to the photographer can they see him/her as potentially being one of their group of friends. This defines whether they like what the photographer has to offer skill-wise and whether the chemistry to capture that is present.

—Fotoğraf çekimi sırasında kesinlikle izin vermeyeceğiniz şeyler nelerdir?

—It's a totally situational question – as a wedding photographer I pretty much need to be there and capture what unfolds and not be too intrusive. Not allowed is probably just asking me to hold my camera and play with it LOL.

—Bir fotoğrafçı diğerlerinin görmediği hangi detayları yakalayabilir?

—Details! Hands holding during the ceremony, mom crying during the vows, the flower girl staring at the bride with an open mouth – those kind of details. During the wedding the guests are so focused on the couple, that what unfolds around them often goes unnoticed to their eyes.

—Fotoğrafın değerini belirleyen şey nedir? Ne gibi unsurları vardır?

—The emotion, the composition, the location – in that order! Yes, the location doesn't matter as much as catching a cinematic and real emotion.

—Sizce 21. yüzyılın sembolü kim olabilir?

—In a society as diverse as ours I can't name one particular person because that would be too restrictive. I would rather point out a modern day nomad, a boho bride, a Kinkfolk reader – that's the symbol of going back to our roots, appreciating simple and healthy way of life and of love.

—Kimi fotoğraflamak istersiniz?

—My client. The couple who choose me for my style and my personality and who I feel like they fit well with me.

—Mesleğinizle ilgili tabularınız var mı?

—Yes, client poaching. There are plenty of clients for all of us.

—Birlikte fotoğraf çekmek istediğiniz birisi var mı?

—I'm a happy man, as I'm already shooting with my perfect partner.

—Hangi konularda endişeleriniz var ve neden?

—The answer is always – time. There is too little of it and always too much to do.

—Hayatınızda sizi en çok etkileyen an?

—Getting a callback for a job interview in the team of Rankin, who is one of my fashion photography idols.

—Çizgi film, edebiyat veya sinema karakteri olsaydınız nasıl bir karakter olmak isterdiniz, neden?

—Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is a metaphorical letter from him to his daughter. In the movie, McConaughey's character Cooper goes through time and space to save his daughter as well as keeping the promise he made to her.
I'd like to believe that I would be Cooper – go through time and space for my family and keep my promise.

—Hayatınızda size ilham veren birisi var mı? Neden?

—Bruce Lee, because he had a really inspirational world view.

—Kısaca başarıyı tanımlar mısınız? Başarıyı nasıl ölçersiniz?

—Success for me is not having unhappy clients. As long as it's down I now that I'm doing something right.

—Beğenilmeyi mi yoksa saygınlığı mı tercih edersiniz?

—Respected.

—Bugüne kadar işinizle ilgili yaptığınız en büyük hatanız nedir?

—Forgetting the name of the bride's mom. Embarrassing!

—Bir seyahate giderken yanınıza alacağınız şey nedir? Niçin?

—Passport, medicine kit, camera gear, change of clothes. I'm simple this way.

—Kullandığınız cihazlar arasında keşke satın almasaydım dediğiniz bir cihaz var mı? Neden?

—Nope.

—Daha iyi fotoğraflar çekmek adına kendinizi nasıl geliştiriyorsunuz?

—Look, look, and look. Wedding blogs and favorite photographers help me to identify what I gravitate towards the most.

—Bir fotoğrafçısı olarak çalışmalarından en çok etkilendiğiniz kişi kimdir?

—My wife and Ivan Troyanovsky. As they are friends it's really – being a part of that creative group that puts cinematography first.

—Fotoğraf çekmeye başladığınızda bilmeyi istediğiniz en önemli şey nedir?

—That answering emails and managing business is taking up more time than the actual picture taking. Having been prepared for that I would have an easier road.

—Fotoğraflarınızda neleri anlatmak istersiniz?

—For me it's not what I want to say but what I want the captured moment to say – I want my photo to end up on the wall in my couple's house and for them to tell their grandchildren all the stories about their wedding day when they ask.

—Neler fotoğraf çekme arzunuzu motive ediyor?

—My wife – seeing her passion for it and being able to be alongside her in our life and our work. There is no other thing I'd rather be doing.

—Ailem daha otoriter veya daha özgürlükçü olmalıydı diye hiç düşündünüz mü?

—I wasn't really raised by a full family, rather my life has taught me and I wouldn't change a thing.

—Geçmişe gidebilseydin neyi değiştirmeyi isterdin?

—So far so good.

—Diğer gezegenlerde de yaşam olduğunu düşünüyor musunuz?

—Sure :)

—Herhangi bir kahramanınız var mı?

—Bruce Lee, Valentino Rossi, my wife.