Fotograf Adam Johnson

—Er du fotogen?

—I think everyone is photogenic. Just not everyone appreciates it the first time they see a photo of themselves. I'm the kind of person who grows to like photos of myself over time, rather than instantly loving them.

—Hvordan blev du en del af fotografiindustrien?

—It just happened. I got married, bought a DSLR for my honeymoon, and became obsessed with it. I thought I was getting quite good, shot a friend's wedding (as a guest) and did a terrible job. So I went away, practised and studied super hard, bought better equipment then tried again. It went much better the second time and I was able to build a portfolio and website. 18 months later I quit my day job.

—Hvad er de vigtigste komponenter i et godt billede efter din mening?

—If we are talking about a wedding photo then it's all about emotion. Light is my obsession, but a beautifully lit emotionless or 'mute' wedding photo is pointless. A photo has to speak for itself, it shouldn't need a caption or an explanation.

—Elsker du at rejse?

—Of course. And I love that wedding photography is showing me more of the world than I would ever have seen without it.

—Hvad kan du bedst lide ved dit fag?

—Freedom of expression. The more you shoot, the better you get, the more people hear about you and know about your work, the more freedom you are given to express yourself artistically. That and what I said about traveling in the last question!

—Hvad synes du mindre godt om ved dit fag?

—I am honestly grateful for this being my profession but of course, when you have young children at school, it can take its toll when you're out most weekends throughout the summer and not able to spend as much time with them as I would like.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ud for fotografering?

—Who knows?! I just hope I'm able to change and adapt to however it changes. I truly believe there will always be a market for beautiful, well crafted photos – the technology and expectations may change but the product will not.

—Hvad er der specielt ved den fotografigenre, du specialiserer dig i?

—People. That's what it's all about. People and relationships. Being invited into a private world and asked to document it for a day.

—Hvordan håndterer du kritik?

—Badly. I do not like to be criticised. Often once it has sunk in I'm able to either reject or accept it and use it to improve, but I don't like it!

—Er der nogen tendenser inden for fotografering?

—Of course! I just prefer to ignore them.

—Hvad bør kriterierne være for en kunde, der skal vælge en fotograf?

—If the photographer's photos of a total stranger's wedding can make you feel something in your heart and soul, you've found your wedding photographer.

—Hvilke ting er slet ikke tilladt under fotograferingen?

—There are no rules but I think each photographer will have their own principles or boundaries. If someone is crying because they are truly sad then I will not photograph them just to get that 'tear shot' that is so popular with wedding photographers these days. If I do not feel it is appropriate to shoot something, then I won't shoot it.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundrede efter din mening?

—Can we answer this with 85 years of the century remaining?! I think there are so many medical and technological advances we will see in this century and I expect icons to be created in these areas.

—Hvem vil du gerne fotografere?

—Ben Folds, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.

—Har du nogen professionelle tabuemner?

—Not that I know of!

—Hvem ville du gerne fotografere sammen med?

—Annie Leibowitz, Joey L, James Nachtwey, Don McCullin, Richard Avedon... I love to shoot with other photographers, I think it's a good thing to do regularly.

—Hvad bekymrer du dig om, og hvorfor?

—I am a worrier. I worry about a lot of things! Professionally speaking I worry about becoming irrelevant, about getting stuck in a rut and left behind and nobody wanting me to take their wedding pictures!

—Hvad har været det mest imponerende øjeblik i dit liv?

—The births of my two children.

—Hvis du var en animeret figur, en fiktiv person eller en person i en film, hvem ville du så være, og hvorfor?

—Peter Pan. I want to stay young and always fight pirates.

—Hvem inspirerer dig i dit liv, og hvorfor?

—I don't know if they inspire me as such but my children are the reason that I do what I do and why I want to continually get better at it. I am inspired by anyone successful – in business, in photography, in sport, in life... Not in an arrogant way but I find my own successes an inspiration to keep trying harder and to achieve more.

—Hvordan definerer du succes? Hvordan måler du det?

—For me, people booking me to shoot photos of them, plus the recognition of my work by my peers is probably my yardstick of success professionally. Happiness and contentment are signs of success in wider life.

—Foretrækker du, at folk kan lide dig, eller at de respekterer dig?

—I don't think it's possible for me personally to respect somebody I don't like, so I don't think you can be one or the other. I can quickly lose respect for someone who turns out to be a huge douchebag.

—Hvad er den største fejl, du nogensinde har begået i dit arbejde?

—I don't remember. I know I've made mistakes but I'm pretty good about moving on from stuff.

—Når du skal rejse, hvad tager du så med dig, og hvorfor?

—My iphone, my kindle, my macbook, my camera and some earphones.

—Er der noget, du ville ønske, du ikke havde købt blandt de tingester, som du ejer? Hvorfor?

—I tend to sell stuff if it doesn't fit into my life or work after I buy it. I remember I once bought a weird step trainer off an infomercial on the TV, it was so rubbish!

—Hvordan uddanner du dig selv til at tage bedre billeder?

—Taking pictures is the education. I'm quite analytical so if I see a photo I like I work out what I like and why... I do the same with my own photos, working out how I could've done better or what I could've done differently. I look at other photography a lot – in books, online, instagram and I think that seeps into my work.

—Hvis arbejde har haft størst indflydelse på dig som fotograf?

—I think a turning point for me was doing a workshop with Daniel Aguilar from Mexico.

—Hvad er det eneste, du ville ønske, du vidste, da du begyndte at tage billeder?

—That there were no rules!

—Hvad vil du gerne fortælle med dine fotografier?

—I've no idea. Good stuff I hope.

—Hvad motiverer dig til at fortsætte med at tage billeder?

—The thing I love about taking photos, or any creative pursuit I guess is that it's just that – a pursuit – and you can never catch the thing you're chasing, but you're constantly improving, or changing at least. It's not static, or limited, or constrained. I know I've not taken my best photo, and I may never take it, but I will always keep striving for it.

—Burde dine forældre have været mere eller mindre strikse?

—No comment.

—Hvis du kunne gå tilbage i tiden, hvad ville du så gøre anderledes?

—Nothing, I don't think of life this way. I got to this point in my life, a point in which I am extremely happy, because of the choices I made. I don't want to change anything.That, or I'd go back and invest in Apple before they invented the iPod.Or I could invent the iPod.

—Hvad med liv på andre planeter?

—Maybe, maybe not. I'm not concerned with it.

—Hvem er dine helte?

—I have no heroes.

—Hvem har du ingen respekt for?

—An awful question.

—Hvad laver du i din fritid?

—I play piano, play and watch football, watch TV shows and movies, go to the gym, spend time with friends and family, listen to music...I don't see life as spare time and work time. It's just life. I do all this stuff and I work, there's no split time. I work when I have to and I play whenever I can.

—Hvilken side af dig viser du aldrig offentligt?

—The public? As opposed to who?

—Hvornår er du helt tilfreds med dit arbejde?

—I love my own work. I love seeing progression in my work. I love it when my clients are in love with the photos I give to them. Completely satisfied? Is this possible?

—Tror du på de traditionelle mande- og kvinderoller?

—My parents got divorced when I was young. This has skewed my view of tradition in the home... I don't really know what traditional roles are – women raise children, cook and clean and men just earn the money? Then no, I don't believe in that. A family is the sum of its parts, not separate and distinct people or roles.

—Har du let ved at få nye venner?

—Yeah I guess. I'm never the instigator, I'm shy so I tend to wait for people to make friends with me!

—Hvor vil du gerne bo?

—If I could have four homes I would have one in the UK, probably near where I live now, one in New York City, a rural house in Southern France and one somewhere in California! Not that I'm greedy.

—Hvad er det dummeste, du nogensinde har indvilget i at gøre?

—I'm not sure I've ever agreed to something stupid.

—Er der liv efter ægteskabet?

—I've been married 8 years... I'm still alive.

—Har du en yndlingsvittighed? Fortæl den til os.

—What's invisible and smells like carrots?Rabbit farts.

—Kan du lide hunde eller katte?

—Neither.

—Hvem eller hvad hader du?

—I hate wasps. Passionately.

—Det bedste ved livet er:

—Family time.

—Det mest irriterende ved livet er:

—Traffic jams.

—Er der nogen ting rundt omkring, som du gerne vil ændre?

—I want to make my house bigger!

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre ved dig selv?

—I would like to break my iphone addiction!

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre i verden?

—Far too much to list. The world is a broken place.

—Kan du give et par råd til de fotografer, som lige er startet?

—You don't have to shoot every second of the wedding, you're not making a stop motion movie... Slow down, breathe, let your mind take in what is happening then tell the story with your photos. There are no rules.

—Hvis nogle rumvæsner kom til jorden, og du var den første person, de mødte, hvad ville du så sige til dem?

—You will never feel satisfied after eating a McDonalds...

—Hvis du bliver spurgt, om du vil indspille en film, hvilken genre vil det så være?

—Slapstick comedy.

—I morgen tager jeg ud og...

—I'll go to the gym, do some editing, get ready for Saturday's wedding, kick a football with my children, eat food, drink coffee...