攝影師 Steve Grogan

—首先─您認為誰是曼徹斯特, 英國最優秀的攝影師呢？ :)

—Oooooh crikey, that is a very good question. There are many that I admire from my home city, but I'll plump for Pete Farrell of Pixies in the Cellar. His eye for composition is just ridiculous!

—您上相嗎？

—No. I absolutely hate having my photograph taken as I have a head like a thumb.

—您如何開始從事攝影行業？

—If you'd have told me 5-6 years ago that I'd be a wedding photographer I'd have laughed at you. I believed that all wedding photography was contrived nonsense and it didn't appeal to me at all. However, once I'd photographed a couple of weddings as a second shooter I realised that wedding photography could be whatever you wanted it to be. So I took the plunge!

—您認為一張好照片裡最重要的元素有哪些？

—For me it's all about the moment and composition. I'm not overly technical and don't stress about a little over/under exposure. The moment is so important to me.

—您熱愛旅行嗎？

—Yes. I love it. Thankfully I've been able to travel rather a lot and being my own boss has enabled me to do more than ever.

—您最喜歡這個職業的哪個部分？

—Perhaps a little cliched, but I like the idea of leaving behind images for future generations to enjoy. Plus I get to work alongside some amazing people. I've made friends for life since I started out.

—您最不喜歡這個職業的哪個部分？

—Of course, there is always going to be something. The only part I don't enjoy is doing the staged group photos, but that's only a tiny percentage of the wedding so I can live with that.

—攝影的前景如何？

—I honestly have no idea. Who knows what the future holds?

—您擅長的攝影類型有什麼特別之處？

—Wedding photographers have to deal with a myriad of changing lighting situations throughout the day. This is definitely one of the most challenging aspects, especially when there are restrictions placed on you by churches for example, where you are rarely allowed to add any flash.

—您如何應對批評？

—I take it on the chin. If it's unsolicited then I'll always question it, but any constructive feedback I get is valued as it'll help me to improve.

—攝影有什麼潮流？

—A lot of weddings in the UK do follow a similar pattern, so it's quite easy for your images to eventually become repetitive.

—客戶選擇攝影師的標準有哪些？

—If I was looking for a wedding photographer then I'd obviously be looking for someone whose images connected with me in some way. Once you've established that you like the images then I would advise any future newlyweds to meet up with the photographer, go for a beer/coffee/cake, have a chat with them, see if you like them as they are going to be around for pretty much all of your day.

—拍攝時應該避免哪些事項？

—For me, not much. I'd photograph anything if it happened at a wedding. Obviously, if someone objected for any reason then I'd stop. But I'd also use my common sense and gut feeling.

—通常不會被注意，但攝影師卻能留意的細節有哪些呢？

—One thing I learned quite early on was to step away from the couple for most of the day. There is so much going on around them that you can miss if you are too focussed on photographing just the couple. My couples seem to appreciate that I can show them images from moments they had no idea happened on their wedding day.

—什麼事物會影響照片的價值？它包含了哪些因素？

—Any photo can hold value to anyone. I've probably taken thousands of "average" simple photos that could be so valuable to my couples and their families/friends. For example, someone who has recently passed away. Those photos then become priceless.

—您認為哪個人可以被視為21世紀的代表人物？

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—您想拍誰？

—Easy one. I'd love to spend some time photographing and chatting with Sir Alex Ferguson.

—您會擔心什麼？為什麼？

—Yes, the constant wars all over the world. Utterly awful.

—如果您是個卡通、小說或電影角色，您想成為誰？為什麼？

—Bananaman.

—您如何定義成功？您會怎麼衡量它？

—Happiness is the only measure of success. People who equate money to success are totally missing the point, in my opinion.

—您是希望被喜愛或是被景仰呢？

—A bit of both.

—當您要去旅行時，您會帶什麼？為什麼？

—I travel light.

—您如何學習拍出更好的照片呢？

—Practice, practice and practice. Take photos, thousands of them. And if you don't like them or they don't look right, figure out why that is, and then work on it. That's pretty much how I managed to become an established full-time professional. I lived and breathed photography until I was confident I'd reached a certain level of competency to be able to charge money for my work. Oh, and practice more. Did I mention practice?

—身為攝影師，誰的作品對您影響最大？

—There are a few whose work I admire and these were inspiring for me when I was first dipping my toes into the world of wedding photography. Andrew Billington, Alan Law, Steven Rooney, Adam Johnson, Two Mann Studios & Pete Farrell are all wedding photographers that I admire. There are more, but these are the ones off the top of my head.

—讓您持續拍照的動力是什麼？

—The genuine love for what I do. Being surrounded by happy people is infectious and good for my soul. I rarely do negativity.

—您的雙親應該更加或是更不嚴厲呢？

—Possible more strict, especially at meal times as I have a lot of mental blocks to certain types of food.

—如果能回到過去，您會有什麼不同舉動呢？

—I'd probably have traveled more in my late teens/early twenties.

—您對在其他星球上的生命有什麼看法呢？

—Based on the laws of probability, I'd say yes.

—您空閒時會做些什麼？

—With my family and friends plus lots of napping with my dogs, reading, traveling and being idle.

—您的哪一面是公眾不曾看到過的？

—My insecurities tend to be kept under lock and key. But I worry myself to sleep most nights.

—您容易交到朋友嗎？

—Yes, I like to think so.

—您希望在哪裡生活？

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—您有最愛的笑話嗎？請告訴我們。

—Why was the sand wet? Because the sea weed.

—您喜歡狗還是貓？

—Dogs.

—您討厭誰或什麼？

—Hate is a strong word. Wow. That's a hard one. Perhaps Donald Trump or Theresa May could fall into that category.

—明天我會去做...

—I'm going out with some fellow photographers for drinks in Manchester. Our weekends tend to be during the week given what we do for a living.