Fotograaf Stephanie Kindermann

—Ten eerste - wie beschouwt u als de beste fotograaf in Brisbane, Australië? :)

—Ha! There's a mad, crazy hoard of us.

—Bent u fotogeniek?

—Yes, and I'll tell you why – I have a high threshold for embarrassment. The less self conscious you are, the better you photograph.

—Hoe bent u beland in de fotografie-industrie?

—So here's the story – my father had been a wedding photographer and so I had my first little film disposables from about 5 years old. I’d shot probably thousands of rolls by the time I made it to photography college, but it was the moment where I was standing in the darkroom seeing that first image rise out of the chemical trays that I remember. Everyone else around me was fairly cool about the whole process but I couldn’t stop laughing with this electric thrill. This was the moment in my life where it became absolutely clear – I knew this is what I was going to do now. Weddings? Everyone loves a party. And a wedding is the best kind of party to shoot.

—Wat zijn volgens u de belangrijkste elementen van een goede foto?

—Good visual narrative – all the elements needed to give you context.
The split second – at the high point of madness.
The feels – something that makes your heart hurt or leap.

—Houdt u van reizen?

—I live for it.

—Wat vindt u het leukst aan uw beroep?

—Learning the world's secrets.
I'll share some of them with you.
No one cooks better than a Greek mama or parties as hard as a Croatian groomsman. Vietnamese elders are the bravest karaoke singers, the French do the best cigar and whiskey bar (not to mention the cheeses) and that Ghanaians will crush any dance floor. Chinese door games can be a hair raising experience, and it is deeply moving it is to see Maori women sing a welcoming song to the bride.

—Wat vindt u het minst leuk aan uw beroep?

—When the alternate drop arrives, the chicken is always overcooked. Always.

—Wat ziet u de toekomst van fotografie?

—Wow this is cool, I hope it will be some sort of virtual reality with a fully rendered 3D capture from the entire day. You'll be able to bang on your head set and take a walk through the entire event from any time and angle.

—Wat is er bijzonder aan het fotografiegenre waarin u zich specialiseert?

—Often having a professional photograph your family is a very rare event. With this in mind I always devote a lot of time and care to capture portraits of treasured people – grandparents, GREAT grandparents, brothers, sisters, children.

—Hoe gaat u om met kritiek?

—I walked through a lot of fire in my early years of learning to shoot, and I'm still here :) Think of my teacher as being that old guy from Kill Bill who strokes his beard a lot.

—Zijn er bepaalde trends in fotografie?

—Yes, and they're mostly so cheesy. Things like making love hearts with your hands.... plz no!

—Welke criteria moet de klant hanteren bij het kiezen van een fotograaf?

—Love the work – don't employ your photographer then ask for an aesthetic from another artist!
Vibes! Would you want to drink a beer with them? Ideally you start the booking process with good vibes, and finish the wedding singing bad karaoke together.

—Wat is er totaal uit den boze bij het fotograferen?

—Hunger. Bride, groom, photographer and squad members should be loaded up with snacks. Picnic style canapes and champagne if you're fancy, sausage rolls and red bull if you're not.

—Welke details die vaak onopgemerkt gaan, kan een fotograaf vastleggen?

—Ha! "Common people," love it.
One of my favourites is the tight-lipped, crazy-eyed stage-whispered threats of a parent to errant child – usually during a particularly tender moment during the ceremony.

—Wat beïnvloedt de waarde van een foto? Wat zijn de elementen ervan?

—The value in a photo is, I feel, in how valued the subject is in it.
For example, a wife will always love a portrait of her husband that has captured how she sees him. If he's a charismatic person, than a genuine laugh. If he's a quiet person, then a photograph of him unaware, relaxed and thoughtful.

—Welke persoon kan volgens u symbool staan voor de 21e eeuw?

—Elon Musk. Billionaire, genius, puts a model car in his real car then launches it into space. What a legend.

—Wie wil u graag fotograferen?

—People madly in love.

—Heeft u bepaalde taboes op professioneel vlak?

—I am a woman of no limits.

—Met wie zou u graag fotograferen?

—Jonas Peterson. He seems like a very relaxed, interesting fellow.

—Waar maakt u zich zorgen over en waarom?

—Mostly I have dreams where I've overslept my alarm and a bride is calling me, asking where I am, and I'm a 2 hour drive away. I guess that's my biggest worry.

—Wat is het meest indrukwekkende moment van uw leven?

—Once, driving home very late from a wedding (of course), I saw space junk or a comet or the worlds most massive shooting star – so bright it illuminated everything around me. It travelled directly down the line of the straight highway I was driving for a full 10 seconds before burning out. An exceptional moment.

—Als u een personage van een cartoon, boek of film was, wie zou u dan zijn?

—Trinity from The Matrix. She was cool and wore latex before lip injections and enormous butts became the symbols of beauty.

—Wie inspireert u in uw leven en waarom?

—Jimmy Nelson, photographer and author of Before They Pass Away. His is a body of work that is truly exceptional and of historical value.

—Hoe definieert u succes? Hoe meet u het?

—Can't measure it but you can feel it – are you getting enough quality sleep? Are you eating well and sharing good wine with friends? Do you have leisure time with your loved ones, and does your work fill you with pleasure?

—Bent u liever graag gezien of gerespecteerd?

—Not everyone will like you all of the time, but you should always conduct yourself in a way that people have no loss of respect for you.

—Wat is de grootste fout die u ooit begaan heeft op professioneel vlak?

—Working at a camera shop, shipped two very expensive video cameras to someone who turned out to be fraudulent. OOPS!

—Wat neemt u mee op reis en waarom?

—My husband, because he can read maps.

—Is er iets dat u liever niet gekocht had tussen de gadgets die u bezit? Waarom?

—No, but people love to "gift" me their defunct camera gear. Please stop doing this baby boomer friends.

—Hoe leert u bij om betere foto's te maken?

—I spend A LOT of time on lovely curation sites like this one.

—Wiens werk heeft u het meest beïnvloed als fotograaf?

—Steve McCurry (again). Portrait photographer for National Geographic.

—Wat had u graag geweten toen u begon als fotograaf?

—That the rules don't actually matter, and only diminish the potential expression of true moments.

—Wat wil u graag zeggen met uw foto's?

—This is a mirror of your life in this moment.

—Wat motiveert u om foto's te blijven maken?

—I have no other talents. LOL, no I can cook quite well. But photographing is my true purpose.

—Hadden uw ouders strenger of minder streng moeten zijn?

—Less. I was raised conservative Catholic. Not allowed to watch The Simpsons when you're 17... come on!

—Wat zou u anders doen als u in de tijd kon terugkeren?

—I wouldn't bother going to study, and instead buy a great kit and apprentice myself out 3 years earlier instead. I did the ol' highschool > study > apprentice > professional route. But study is now a moot point with online resources like Linda.com.

—Wat denkt u over leven op andere planeten?

—Oh jeez I hope so. Certainly spices things up.

—Wie zijn uw helden?

—My colleagues, for lifting my heavy, heavy camera bag up and down stairs and into the car innumerable times.

—Voor wie kan u geen respect opbrengen?

—Paedophiles

—Wat doet u in uw vrije tijd?

—I punch through Netflix series like a karate master does bricks.

—Welke kant van u krijgt het publiek niet te zien?

—Lying around in pyjamas, no makeup, orange Dorito stained fingers, unshaved legs.

—Wanneer bent u helemaal tevreden over uw werk?

—When a couple tells me they cried seeing the pictures. (With JOY).

—Gelooft u in een traditionele rolverdeling voor man en vrouw?

—There are definitely things men are better at, like being muscly and crushing rocks with their bare fists. And there are definitely things women are better at, like looking good in high heels and jean shorts.

—Maakt u gemakkelijk vrienden?

—Yes

—Waar zou u graag wonen?

—I'd love a couple of years in Istanbul. I'm a big fan!

—Wat is het domste waarmee u ooit akkoord bent gegaan?

—To go on a VERY long bush walk, mere hours after getting home from a pub crawl.

—Is er een leven na het huwelijk?

—YES! It just keeps getting better!

—Heeft u een favoriete mop? Vertel ...

—Any Gary Larson comic ever published. He might be the funniest man on earth.

—Houdt u van honden of van katten?

—Cats. I'm not embarrassed.

—Wie of wat haat u?

—Celery. Eww

—Het beste in het leven is:

—Champagne and cheeses with friends.

—Het vervelendste in het leven is:

—People farting next to you on flights.

—Is er iets rondom u dat u graag zou veranderen?

—I'm about to try my hand at home renovation, in a very literal interpretation of that question!

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan uzelf?

—I would love to learn Chinese. And sign language. And also do some pottery. And learn to ride horses. Probably should exercise more too.

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan de wereld?

—Let's turn down the level of racism shall we, it seems to be gaining momentum instead of losing it.

—Kan u tips geven voor beginnende fotografen?

—Sure! Don't train yourself out of -not- shooting things. Such as the weird, or awkward, or funny or embarrassing moments. These are some of the greatest photographs you could take!

—Als buitenaardse wezens naar de Aarde komen en u bent de eerste persoon die ze ontmoeten, wat zal u hen dan zeggen?

—I guess I'd ask them if they wanted to join us for lunch, I know a good place...

—U wordt gevraagd om een film te maken, welk genre wordt het?

—Whatever genre Monty Python calls itself.

—Morgen zal ik ... doen

—EDIT! Pat my cat. Email clients! Poke around the fridge and hope for the best. Print some albums! Look at memes!