Fotograf Mark Wallis

—Är du fotogenisk?

—Not really, mainly because I pull stupid faces when I find myself on the wrong side of the camera.

—Hur började du inom fotografi?

—The old story of the couple with no money, an old uni friend with a decent camera and a firm agreement that there’d be no posed photos.

—Vilka är enligt dig de viktigaste komponenterna för ett bra fotografi?

—For me it’s all about the genuine moment, captured without any intervention by the photographer. A moment that would have happened even if the photographer wasn’t there. A moment of action, emotion, great light, etc.

—Älskar du att resa?

—I do, but in comfort. I’m more of a city person than a wilderness person.

—Vad gillar du mest med ditt yrke?

—Working for myself and (kinda) gatecrashing parties.

—Vad gillar du minst med ditt yrke?

—The assumption by some that I’m at the wedding to take control of everything and to take boring, posed photos of the guests.

—Hur kommer framtiden för fotografering att se ut?

—Not sure I even know what the ‘present’ of wedding photography is. I just do what I do and hope enough people each year want that.

—Hur hanterar du kritik?

—Depends who it’s coming from and how constructive it is.

—Finns det några trender inom fotografering?

—Always somebody doing something that everybody else copies until something else comes along. Trends get old quickly (see ‘couple in rain with flashgun’, etc.)

—Vad bör kriterierna vara för en kund som ska välja en fotograf?

—Approach is key for me. They either want to just get on and enjoy their wedding and have a record of it, or they want to spend the day modelling for pieces of art or fashion photography (or somewhere in between). A connection with the photographer’s portfolio, and a desire to see themselves in those images, is a good guide.

—Vilka detaljer kan en fotograf fånga som vanligtvis går obemärkta?

—I don’t think there is anything specific. A good wedding photographer will have an eye for a moment or an interesting composition or great light that most won’t have, but the key thing is that when you’re employed to shoot a wedding you approach it from a different angle to a friend or family member who is there to enjoy the wedding. I am paid to be observant. Plus, I see what the common people are doing. I’m there to photograph everybody, not just the couple.

—Vilken person tycker du symboliserar 2000-talet?

—For me, whoever does the most to increase education and encourage the use of reason and logic in decision-making from the top to the bottom of social and political hierarchy.

—Vem vill du fotografera?

—Anybody that trusts me completely and who will ignore me.

—Har du några professionella tabun?

—I won’t work for people or companies that I perceive to be helping to make the world a worse place.

—Vem skulle du vilja fotografera med?

—Nobody. I like working alone.

—Vad oroar du dig över och varför?

—Time and money and my misguided perception that I have a shortage of both.

—Vilket är det mest imponerande ögonblicket i ditt liv?

—Completing this interview.

—Om du vore en animerad, litterär eller filmkaraktär, vem skulle du vara och varför?

—Butthead from Beavis & Butthead, because he.. he… he. You said would. He.. he…

—Vem är din inspirationskälla i livet och varför?

—I’m not good at absorbing or recognising inspiration.

—Föredrar du att vara omtyckt eller respekterad?

—Depends who is doing the liking and respecting.

—Vilket är det största misstaget som du har gjort på jobbet?

—Running up the stairs of Marylebone Town Hall with a zoom lens precariously perched in a jacket pocket didn’t end well.

—Vad tar du med dig och varför när du är ute och reser?

—Clothes, money, phone, a camera of some sort.

—Äger du en gadget som du önskar att du inte hade köpt? Varför?

—A Panasonic GF1 that I barely used and that my wife dropped and damaged after I’d had it for a couple of weeks. I don’t get on with cameras without viewfinders.

—Hur utbildar du dig själv för att bli en bättre fotograf?

—Take more pictures.

—Vems arbete har haft störst inflytande över dig som fotograf?

—Nobody specific, but seeing in 2004/2005 that a documentary approach was a viable option for wedding photography was the push I needed to start doing it myself.

—Vad försöker du säga med dina fotografier?

—The truth.

—Vad motiverar dig att fortsätta att ta bilder?

—People keep paying me to come to their weddings.

—Borde dina föräldrar ha varit mer eller mindre strikta?

—My mum got it pretty much spot on.

—Om du kunde resa tillbaka i tiden, vad skulle du göra annorlunda?

—I would make better use of my enquiring mind and study science or engineering, so that I could be of more use to the world and future generations.

—Tror du att det finns liv på andra planeter?

—Presumably, but we’ll wipe out life on our own planet before we make contact with life on others.

—Vilka är dina hjältar?

—I don’t really have any. They’d only ruin it at some point.

—Finns det någon person som du inte har någon respekt för?

—Those who promote fear, intolerance and lies to feed their own greed.

—Vad gör du på fritiden?

—I do DIY, or I play my ukulele, or I go to (mostly metal) gigs or I do a crossword.

—Har du någon sida som du aldrig visar upp offentligt?

—Most of my sides. I’m a fairly private person.

—När är du fullständigt tillfredsställd med ditt arbete?

—Dunno, it hasn’t happened yet.

—Tror du på de traditionella mans- och kvinnorollerna?

—Like most traditions, best left in the past. Live and let live.

—Är det enkelt för dig att skaffa vänner?

—I really don’t. I’m friendly and approachable and I get on with most people, but I’ve been burnt too many times so I keep most people at a few arms’ length.

—Var skulle du vilja bo?

—In a huge warehouse apartment in NYC, or in a cosy old manor house surrounded by a few acres, or on top of a hill in Scotland.

—Finns det ett liv efter äktenskapet?

—It’s just a certificate and a great party. As you were.

—Har du ett favoritskämt? Berätta det för oss.

—“Some people like cats and some people don't. Apparently the Pope's a cataholic.” Milton Jones

—Gillar du hundar eller katter?

—I prefer cats to dogs, but I don’t like the damage they do to your house, so am currently resisting my family’s desire to own one.

—Vem eller vad hatar du?

—Overuse of hate.

—Det bästa med livet är:

—Freedom. And Five Guy’s Bacon Cheeseburger, All The Way.

—Det mest irriterande med livet är:

—Procrastination. And people constantly changing speed on the motorway when I’m using cruise control.

—Finns det någonting om dig själv som du skulle vilja ändra?

—I’d like to have more self-belief.

—Vad vill du ändra på i världen?

—I’d like to ensure everyone gets a quality education and eradicate dependence on myth, legend and violence.

—Kan du ge några råd till nya fotografer?

—Take your own (decent) food, and wear comfortable shoes.

—Om utomjordingar skulle komma till jorden, och du är den första personen som de träffar, vad skulle du säga till dem?

—That I want a ride in their spaceship.

—Om du skulle bli tillfrågad att spela in en film, vilken genre skulle det vara?

—A very dark and gory horror film.

—Imorgon kommer jag att...

—…something less boring instead.