摄影师Jo-Ann Stokes

—您上相吗？

—Unfortunately not ....but probably best that I am not because it makes me try extra hard to make my couples feel comfortable in front of the lens and capture beautiful photographs that they will love of themselves.

—您是如何进入摄影行业的？

—Purely by accident to be honest! My trip into photography started by documenting my life, my kids and then into landscape photography. A friend saw my photos, told her friend who was getting married and they contacted me and asked me to do their wedding. I explained that I had never done a wedding but they were fine with that. I loved it ....and the rest ...is history! And my first clients are still one of my biggest fans!

—在您看来，一张好的照片最重要的组成部分有哪些？

—A photograph that touches your soul ...no matter the composition, the editing etc ...that makes for a good photo ...no actually, that makes for a "great" photo ....but if all you want is good ..then good composition, good lighting and good posing would make a good photo .....I continuously strive to take a "great" photo.

—您热爱旅行吗？

—Do you seriously have to ask? I "love" to travel ...it feeds my soul, opens my eyes, enriches my life and makes me appreciate everything that God created for us.

—对于您的职业，您最喜欢什么地方？

—The creativity ...if you can visualise it ....you can photograph it! The continious learning curve....there are new things to learn all the time! I am continiously challenged and excited by my profession.

—对于您的职业，您最不喜欢什么地方？

—The admin!! Wish we were taking photographs 100% of the time ...unfortunately its only a small portion of our workload. And selling myself ...I find it so hard to do!

—摄影的前景如何？

—There will alwasy be a future for wedding photography ...people will continously fall in love and want to get married and start families of that I have no doubt ....I think how we photograph weddings will stay fundamentally the same ..but the way we grab our image might change. I see change coming in the fact that we will film the wedding and grab our photographs from the video ...and I am excited about that because a hair breadth of a second can make all the difference to an image.

—您专长的摄影风格有什么特别？

—Wedding photography is special because it makes you forget all the bad things in the world for a few brief moments. It makes you believe that the world is all rosy, full of love and that there is bright future ahead and there is truth in fairytales and the "happy ever after"

—您如何应对批评？

—Well I am a creative ...so lets just say ...it can hurt! But I am also open-minded so I can take a step back and look at it through that persons eyes and see if their criticism is valuable. Good criticism is worth its weight in gold!

—摄影有什么趋势？

—There are always trends in photography! The question needs to be asked ..how will your images look in 30 years ...will the trend stand the test of time. Quality, timeless photography will never date.

—客户选择摄影师时应该遵循什么标准？

—Initially the couple should love the photography ...it should speak to them. But the most important criteria is that you like your photographer and feel comfortable with them....you will spend a large part of your day with this person in your space ..its best that you like them.

—拍摄时绝不允许什么事情？

—Cheesy!

—有哪些摄影师可以捕捉的通常会被忽略的细节？

—We can see moments that develop and are waiting for them to happen.

—什么影响照片的价值？它的元素有哪些？

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—在您看来，什么人可以成为 21 世纪的代表人物？

—The co-founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And our very own, Nelson Mandela!

—您想要为谁拍摄？

—My next bride!

—您有职业禁忌吗？

—One or two ...nudity is not my thing!

—您想与谁一起拍摄？

—Thats a tough one ...Jose Villa, ..I love his pastel, airy, film look but I also love the dark, moody look from Susan Stripling.

—您担心什么？为什么担心？

—I worry about my children ...I am first and foremost a Mom! From a wedding photographers perspective ..that I lose a wedding due to faulty cards, crashing computers & harddrives. I have made every provision to safeguard my clients weddings but it is natural to worry about their images.

—在生命中，给您印象最深的时刻是什么？

—The birth of my sons. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison to those moments.

—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 am enjoying the character, Elizabeth McCord from Madam Secretary at the moment. She handles problems with intelligence, respect and sensitivity in very fragile situations.

—在生命中谁鼓舞了您？为什么？

—My family inspire me ...they inspire me to be better...they inspire me to prove to them that life is for living and that you make your own destiny with the choices and decisions that you make. Every action has a reaction. Mistakes are not always bad as the experience it teaches you is sometimes more valuable that getting something 100% correct.

—您如何定义成功？如何衡量它？

—A successful person is a person who has balance in their life! A happy marriage, family life & career ..is my definition of success! Only having a successful career with money in the bank ...can make for a very lonely/empty life.

—您非常受人喜欢或尊敬吗？

—Neither ....I would prefer to be loved!

—您在工作中犯过的最大错误是什么？

—When I worked in banking ....I paid a rather large sum of money into the wrong persons account!

—当您准备去旅行时，要携带什么？为什么？

—My camera and a lens ...do I need anything more?

—在您拥有的器材中，是否有一些是您后悔购买的？为什么？

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—您如何提高自己以拍摄出更好的照片？

—I attend workshops, watch videos, practice, practice, practice!

—谁的作品对您作为摄影师的影响最大？

—Many of my photographer friends have in their own small way influenced me. Each one has at some stage dropped a pearl of wisdom on my eager ears.

—开始拍摄时，您最想知道什么？

—I initially started to play around with a camera when i was a teenager ...I wish I had figured out then, that this was the career that I loved.

—您想对自己的照片说什么？

—I am not big into props ....I prefer the people in my photographs to be the focal point. It is their essence, emotions that tell the story.

—什么激励您继续拍摄下去？

—I dont think there is anything that motivates me to continue to take photos ....I think it is an extension of who I am ...even when I dont have my camera with me ...I am still framing photos in my eye and taking a mental photo of a scene.

—您的父母是否应该更严厉或变得温和一点呢？

—They were perfect. I like the way I turned out ...lol!

—如果能够回到过去，您会有什么不同的举动？

—Nothing ...if i went back in time to change anything ...then my outcome might be very different to where I am now ....and I kind of like where I am now. And if I had actually done photography from a teenager then my people skills would not have been developed. I believe there was a reason for only discovering my love for photography later on.

—对于其他星球上的生命，您有何看法？

—Possible ...but have no interest in finding out ...its bad enough controlling the human race that we have here ...we sure as heck dont need the headache of another race somewhere else.

—谁是您的英雄？

—There are no heroes ....everyone is only human ...we all err on this road we call life. There are people who I respect i.e Nelson Mandela, FW De Klerk, Mother Theresa, Pope Francis, Thuli Madonsela

—您不尊重谁？

—Dictators, bad politicians, criminals, children and animal abusers! Our president, Jacob Zuma, Stupidity, Robert Mugabe.

—您在业余时间会做什么？

—My hubby has a Harley Davidson motorbike and we often will go on road trips around the Cape and needless to say ...I take photos. I enjoy socialising with fellow photographers. I walk in a farm close to my house with my dogs.

—公众从不会看到您的哪一面？

—They dont see me stressed or worried. I show a calm face to the outside world and behind the scenes I make a plan. I also have a wicked sense of humour that I try to keep in check.

—什么时候您对自己的作品完全满意？

—I wish I knew the answer ...then i would create a formula and stick to it ..but there again then I might end up being bored!

—您主张男人和女人的传统角色吗？

—Yes and no ....I believe women can do anything they put their minds too ...but I also believe that men are traditionally the hunters and do not enjoy being the hunted. Let them enjoy the chase.

—您很容易就会交到朋友吗？

—Very easily. I can chat to complete strangers wherever I am.

—您想生活在什么地方？

—If I couldnt live in Cape Town for whatever reason ...then I would go to the next extreme and live in London ...but only if I had a lot of money ;)

—您答应做的最愚蠢的事情是什么？

—A nude shoot

—结婚之后生活的质量高吗？

—lol ...yes, definitely! I have done more and had more fun with my husband than with any other human being. He is the one who has my back, who I rely on, who I can be real with, who accepts me for who I am ...who will look after me when I am sick or sad ....to lend a Greys Anatomy line ..."he is my person" ...but yes there were times when I could have lovingly strangled his neck..he definitely still knows how to push my buttons!

—您有最喜欢的玩笑吗？请告诉我们。

—Yes ..I do ...but I think it might be a bit too dirty for a wedding blog ...especially for people considering getting married ...lol! Only old married couples would find it amusing!

—您喜欢狗还是喜欢猫？

—Dogs ...grew up with them all my life! My dad was allergic to cats ..so was never allowed to have one ....so not too sure if I would have loved cats more!

—您讨厌谁，或者厌恶什么？

—People who are rigid and the world is black and white and do not see outside the box.

—生活中最美好的事情是：

—free!

—生活中最让人烦心的事情是：

—People who do not listen

—您是否想改变周围的一些事情？

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—您希望改变自己的哪些方面？

—I wish I had more time!

—您希望改变世界什么地方？

—Evil

—对于刚入行的摄影师，您能提供一些建议吗？

—Be unique ...find your own style ....do not be like sheep and copy everyone else! Trust in the way you see the world ..you will develop!

—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？

—If you know whats good for you ...turn around and run in the opposite direction

—如果您被邀请去拍一部电影，您希望是什么流派？

—A romance or a drama

—明天我会去做...

—some food shopping, a maternity shoot, some editing ...watch our national rugby team , the Springboks play their first game at the Rugby World Cup 15 in England against Japan!