Фотограф Steve Grogan

—Перше і найважливіше - кого ви можете назвати найкращим фотографом у вашому місті? :)

—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!

—Чи ви фотогенічні?

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

—Як ви опинилися у галузі фотографії?

—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!

—Якими, на вашу думку, є найголовніші складові гарної фотографії?

—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.

—Чи любите ви подорожувати?

—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.

—Що вам більш за все подобається у вашій професії?

—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.

—Що вам менш за все подобається у вашій професії?

—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.

—Яким буде майбутнє фотографії?

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

—Що робить жанр фотографії, в якому ви знімаєте, особливим?

—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.

—Як ви справляєтеся з критикою?

—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.

—Чи є якісь тренди у фотографії?

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

—Якими для клієнта повинні бути критерії вибору фотографа?

—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.

—Чого слід уникати при фотозйомці?

—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.

—Які деталі, що, зазвичай, проходять непоміченими, може «зловити» фотограф?

—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.

—Що впливає на цінність фотографії? Якими є елементи цього?

—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.

—Яка людина, на вашу думку, може бути символом 21-го століття?

—Mark Zuckerberg, undoubtedly.

—Кого ви бажаєте сфотографувати?

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

—Про що ви хвилюєтесь і чому?

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

—Якщо ви були б персонажем мультика, книги або фільму, ким саме ви були б і чому?

—Bananaman.

—Як ви визначаєте успіх? Як ви його вимірюєте?

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

—Ви надали б перевагу тому, щоб вас любили чи все-таки поважали?

—A bit of both.

—Коли ви збираєтесь у подорож, що ви берете з собою і чому?

—I travel light.

—Як ви вчитесь робити гарніші знімки?

—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?

—Чиї роботи найбільше вплинули на вас, як на фотографа?

—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.

—Що мотивує вас продовжувати робити знімки?

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

—Чи вашим батькам варто було б бути більш чи менш суворими?

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

—Якщо ви могли б повернутися назад у часі, що б ви зробили інакше?

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

—А як щодо життя на інших планетах?

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

—Чим ви займаєтесь у свій вільній час?

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

—Який ваш бік публіка ніколи не бачить?

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

—Чи ви легко заводите друзів?

—Yes, I like to think so.

—Де ви хотіли б жити?

—Reykjavik, Iceland.

—Чи є у вас улюблений жарт? Розкажіть нам.

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

—Ви любите собак чи котів?

—Dogs.

—Кого або що ви ненавидите?

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

—Завтра я піду і...

—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.