摄影师Mohammed Aadil

—首先——您能否指出谁是来自钦奈, 印度的最优秀的摄影师？:)

—I believe that nobody can define oneself better than another person can. Any photographer who can bring out a couple’s story in the most artistic form, and captures the values and traditions of marriage, is in my opinion the best at what they do.

—您上相吗？

—I am shy whenever I find myself in front of the camera. I’m more of a ‘behind the lens’ kinda guy.

—您是如何进入摄影行业的？

—Photography has always been what makes me get out of bed in the morning. I was always that kid who spent more time with cameras growing up. I feel an adrenaline rush when I work with them. During one of my travels, I found an opportunity in a friend’s wedding, and have been in this business ever since. Crafting fine memories for real people started giving me a happiness, one that I haven’t found anywhere else.

—在您看来，一张好的照片最重要的组成部分有哪些？

—Understanding what you are going to capture is the key first step. As a wedding photographer, we have access to knowing what couples actually want, in addition to knowing specific locations, venues, décor themes, and style choices. Knowing all this, we gain a clear understanding of what type of lighting is going to be available to us. Preparing in advance then becomes a crucial phase. We also need to stay inspired throughout. Composition techniques also play a significant role, as well as how you implement lighting and shadows. At the end of it all, an emotional element surely needs to be present. The final album will then contain photos that speak for themselves.

—您热爱旅行吗？

—I adore travelling. I feel that it removes ‘creative blocks’, at least for me anyway. Travelling makes me feel light, and fills my soul with Nature and Humanity.

—对于您的职业，您最喜欢什么地方？

—Plenty of factors have made me fall in love with my work, starting with how it allows me to create memories for newlyweds. These memories also serve and benefit their family and any children that they plan to have in future. Entire families cherish what we create, and that makes me feel enormously responsible because I’m given the special task of serving memories to generations. Most weddings in India are large-scale compared to anywhere else in the world. Amidst even the largest gatherings, us wedding photographers hold a powerful place owing to what we are capturing for posterity on behalf of couples. And when they appreciate what we do, it all comes home to me, and makes me feel warm and happy. They treat us like family or friends, and that is something all the money in the world cannot buy.

—对于您的职业，您最不喜欢什么地方？

—Sometimes it becomes rather difficult to deal with certain wedding guests. They prove challenging mainly because of differences in their backgrounds and personal perspectives. Some such people fail to understand the value of what we as wedding photographers bring to the event. Misunderstandings that arise from such parties make me feel low and uncomfortable, but my team and I do come prepared to diplomatically resolve such matters before they get out of hand.

—摄影的前景如何？

—This business has come a long way from its purely traditional roots. Modernity has given us fresher ways to freeze moments and capture smiles. I place credit on Photobooks, and their unerring ability to make people relive the memories we captured for them. Quality Photobooks are, in their own right, a major portion of the future of photography.

—您专长的摄影风格有什么特别？

—I feel I come under the category of ‘fine art photography’ wherein we capture emotions and moments, familial celebrations, friendships, and more.

—您如何应对批评？

—I look forward to it, actually. If my work is being critiqued, I believe it opens my mind and heart to further improvement. It evolves my work and style, to be honest.

—摄影有什么趋势？

—In the wedding photography field, there are indeed several trends worth appreciating. Storytelling through pictures has fast become a major stylistic trend in this field. It is no longer about random photo-captures but rather choosing how to capture each photo so that it tells a story in a flow that doesn’t require words to explain them.

—客户选择摄影师时应该遵循什么标准？

—The first question they need to ask is, Does the photographer suit the style requirements that they, as a customer, absolutely want. Genre and Quality are two other factors to consider when choosing a photographer. A conversation must follow, one where everyone is clear on what is needed for a wedding shoot, and how best to provide it.

—拍摄时绝不允许什么事情？

—Anything that disturbs the setting at the location/venue must be avoided or resolved as soon as possible. Be presentable, Kurtas recommended, and especially clothes that do not slip or appear sloppy to viewers looking at the stage and watching some of the photography team members working to capture memories. Nobody should feel uncomfortable at a wedding.

—有哪些摄影师可以捕捉的通常会被忽略的细节？

—Memories. Some of the best moments can go unnoticed by the untrained eye.

—什么影响照片的价值？它的元素有哪些？

—The couple and both their families. Wedding photos are nothing without them in it.

—在您看来，什么人可以成为 21 世纪的代表人物？

—No comments

—您想要为谁拍摄？

—I would love to shoot an Elopement Wedding. Don’t get me wrong, I am not endorsing running away and tying the knot without one’s family knowing. But there is something genuinely romantic and passionate about two people so desperate to be together that they are willing to say yes to one another and only later worry about parental consent. Also, I have always dreamed of shooting a tropical wedding, a woodland one, and one atop a mountain.

—您有职业禁忌吗？

—I am unsure how to answer this, but I can offer an opinion that may fit the question. I personally believe that not everyone can be a professional photographer just because they own a high-end camera. I get miffed when someone says otherwise. It takes a lot of training and experience, thought and hands-on learning, time and energy, to become a professional photographer. Not something that happens overnight. Newbies cannot therefore claim to be professionals, not just yet anyway.

—您想与谁一起拍摄？

—Any photographer who has a keen eye for Art. They should be proficient in varied compositions, aside from the regular ones. They need to think out of the box, and be quite patient.

—您担心什么？为什么担心？

—Indian Weddings and Time are not always a great match, and are a main source of worry for me. No mater how much planning has gone into the wedding, there is always the element of time-limits. Running short of time has always been a nagging worry for me, despite the fact that we cover all our events on time. Strangely ironic, I admit.

—在生命中，给您印象最深的时刻是什么？

—Two moments come to mind.
First: when someone trusts me to handle their Big Day and doesn’t control every step of the process, but allows me to do it my way even though I have only a few years under my belt. Second: When the same client calls me to their home and tells me that my team and I did a fabulous job. Such appreciation is what photographers like me live for, to know that we literally made their day.

—如果有机会成为一个动画、文学或电影人物，您想成为谁？为什么？

—I would prefer to fly or be invisible. Any character with the ability to fly or turn invisible makes me want to be them. I think flight will help me achieve more with my photography, especially where angles are concerned. I can’t believe I said that so seriously.

—在生命中谁鼓舞了您？为什么？

—Budding photographers actually inspire me in more ways than one. They bring a heightened sense of dedication and effort to what they do and learn. Couples and their love stories also inspire me. Their families, and the bond they share, also inspire me in several ways. I see so much trust placed in me, and it makes me push myself to give my best.

—您如何定义成功？如何衡量它？

—Completing a project and still being able to hold the same level of love and respect with that client is, to me, a prime example of success. I measure success with the happiness and satisfaction of my clientele.

—您非常受人喜欢或尊敬吗？

—Liked. Because respect follows after.

—您在工作中犯过的最大错误是什么？

—I wanted to shoot a beautiful picture of the bride’s lehenga; a traditional bridal outfit. I couldn’t find an ideal spot to hang the outfit for the shot. All I could find was a water sprinkler nozzle-head, and as bad luck had it, the sprinkler came on and almost ruined the dress. But I managed to salvage the situation, thanks in large part to the hotel where the wedding was taking place. It was one of the finest hotels in India, and I offer all due credit to their laundry services. In my attempts to take the best shot possible of this lehenga, I made a rookie mistake, one which taught me a valuable professional lesson.

—当您准备去旅行时，要携带什么？为什么？

—I carry all my equipment, as many as possible. You never know what you might need and when. I keep my destination contact(s) at hand, ready to contact in case of aid or information.

—在您拥有的器材中，是否有一些是您后悔购买的？为什么？

—I explore all the gadgets I possess, and find the best ways to use them. So nothing is truly wasted with my team and me.

—您如何提高自己以拍摄出更好的照片？

—I pursue cross-inspirations, meaning I gain inspiration from movies, architecture photographers, generic business styles in photography, and try to implement the best elements into my wedding photography field. Photography is all about ‘lines’, so I tend to focus on those elements from my cross-inspirations. I also definitely study the work of other photographers. I like to try out various styles, actually practically try them out. I feel I’ve learned a lot through this approach.

—谁的作品对您作为摄影师的影响最大？

—I keep track of the work of varied photographers. Most especially, a sense of ‘fearless photography’ most captures my interest.

—开始拍摄时，您最想知道什么？

—I wish I knew what ‘K’ meant, namely Kelvin, which is essentially increasing/decreasing the warmth in a picture. Technically, this could have saved me a lot of effort early on.

—您想对自己的照片说什么？

—I wish to craft the finest memories for both the couple and their families.

—什么激励您继续拍摄下去？

—The love and trust from families and couples makes me feel responsible to the fullest, which in turn motivates me to keep getting better and giving better.

—您的父母是否应该更严厉或变得温和一点呢？

—One of the best gifts I have in this lifetime are my parents. They never once complained about my career choice. I wouldn’t be where I am without their continued support. This was true even when I lost several cameras, and they still supported me with new ones. I learned trust early on through my parents, and learned to value said trust, a trait that I still carry onto my work and clients.

—如果能够回到过去，您会有什么不同的举动？

—I would have liked to keep a steady record of the timeline and pattern of my work progress from day-one. I have learned a lot over the course of several years, but was too busy doing the work to maintain any sort of ‘personal diary’.

—对于其他星球上的生命，您有何看法？

—I am quite reliant on what Elon Musk and his Space-X initiative is going to discover, which I believe will happen in my lifetime. I would like a grab a ticket for myself once space exploration options are open to the public. Who knows what we’ll find.

—谁是您的英雄？

—My family, and whoever has ardently supported me and been with me all my life, through thick and thin.

—您不尊重谁？

—Anyone who misuses opportunities to create photographs for couples, and harbours the sole aim of self-promotion with no regard for taking emotionally relevant pictures for the customer. I am not a fan of those who intentionally refuse to see the difference between intimate and vulgar in photography.

—您在业余时间会做什么？

—I explore forests or national parks to pursue my passion for wildlife photography.

—公众从不会看到您的哪一面？

—I shall openly admit that all my clients, and by extension the public, do not see the amount of post-processing / post-production work that goes into each of their photographs.

—什么时候您对自己的作品完全满意？

—I feel completely satisfied only when I have achieved a pre-determined output quality for each photo I capture. I will only truly be happy once I have captured the result I’d visualised in my mind.

—您主张男人和女人的传统角色吗？

—I deeply believe in this, actually. No matter how far modernity takes us, I will always be that one photographer who enjoys capturing traditional moments as they were always intended to be. Every tradition followed in a wedding has powerful value, especially for future generations who may be looking back at these moments and memories from, say, thirty years in the future. Traditions are gradually vanishing, I feel, and photographers are one of the few professionals working to ‘chronicle’ such traditions.

—您很容易就会交到朋友吗？

—I believe I do, because I still call most of my clients my friends.

—您想生活在什么地方？

—A forest setting, among Nature. Or a hilltop.

—您答应做的最愚蠢的事情是什么？

—No comment.

—结婚之后生活的质量高吗？

—Most definitely. There are several small blooming beginnings after marriage. It will be interesting to note how each couple discovers this for themselves.

—您有最喜欢的玩笑吗？请告诉我们。

—Not really.

—您喜欢狗还是喜欢猫？

—I own a cat called Kittu and I love her very much.

—您讨厌谁，或者厌恶什么？

—I hate fakery in people.

—生活中最美好的事情是：

—To be born, or to be living, in this generation where technology is booming.

—生活中最让人烦心的事情是：

—The new methodological twists that some people are choosing in the wedding industry.

—您是否想改变周围的一些事情？

—I would like to encourage people to hold on to the traditions specific to every wedding. Traditions are important and powerful, and carry ancient wisdom in them.

—您希望改变自己的哪些方面？

—I would love to change my over-thinking, which is a nasty habit that harms only one’s own self. I would also like to learn not to feel disappointed at the end of the day if/when couples do not grant my team and I more time to get the job done.

—您希望改变世界什么地方？

—I think I am the wrong person to be asking this, because I am more inclined toward changing my own little world in my own personal life. If each one does that, I believe the world at large will change for the best. That’s why I prefer praying for better human beings, and humanity.

—对于刚入行的摄影师，您能提供一些建议吗？

—Do not assume the camera is all that matters. It is not about the sort of technology or tools you own. How much time you spend with that camera or tool, how much you learn about it, how much you can ‘ask’ your camera to ‘work’ for you, these are all important thoughts for any budding photographer to meditate upon. Do what you think you need to do to get the perfect output instead of following the ‘default recommends’ in a camera. Lights, shadows, reflections, lines… Look for these in every frame. Keep practicing every day. You can also rent gear instead of actually buying it when you aren’t ready.

—如果外星人来到地球并且您是他们见到的第一个人，您会跟他们说什么？

—Do you need a photoshoot? I might make myself their official photographer.

—如果您被邀请去拍一部电影，您希望是什么流派？

—I would enjoy shooting a film about travel.

—明天我会去做...

—Create something inspiring.