Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Jste fotogeničtí?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Jak jste se dostali do fotografického průmyslu?

—In 2008, I was already doing amateur photography for a couple of year. To do something different for a change, I asked my uncle if I could photograph his wedding. It was his second marriage, they were not asking for a photographer, so there was little risk. I ended up liking it so much, that I decided to do it more.

—Jaké jsou podle vás nedůležitější součásti dobré fotografie?

—Above all, the photo has to have a certain impact. Wether that's an intense emotion, a good vibe, or just a spectaculair visual impact. After that comes the technical part. So a good lighting, composition, etcetera. But for me, the impact is the most important part, by far.

—Cestujete rádi?

—Yes, but with moderation though. I'd love to do 3-5 destination weddings a year. I don't think I'd enjoy doing 10, 15 or even more.

—Co máte nejredši na vaší profesi?

—It sounds like a horrible cliché, but it's true: Every wedding is different. You never really know what's going to happen. Surprises can happen at every moment. Besides that, I think it's a great honor to be asked to create lifelong memories for the people that are getting married. 5, 10, 25 or even 50 years after they get married, people still remember who took their wedding photos. It's pretty wonderful that you can be an important part in people's lives.

—Co se vám líbí nejméně na vaší profesi?

—Basically: The postprocessing. I have a horrible concentration when it comes to editing. I love editing my 50-75 favorites from a wedding, but after that, it gets hard for me to keep focused.

—Jaká je budoucnost focení?

—I think the future of wedding photography will be a further evolution of the direction it's going in right now. More journalistic stuff, more moments. But besides that: technical advances. Faster camera's, better low light capabilities, and other accessories like drones, light field cameras, and stuff like that, giving photographers even more tools to being creative.

—Co je výjimečného na žánru fotografií, na který se specializujete?

—I love many aspects of it. I love the fact that people are in a good mood, they take the time to look good as well. People get married in beautiful venues, and you as a photographer gets to be a part of so many people's special day. That's amazing.

—Jak zvládáte kritiku?

—I try to extract what people really mean with their comments. Some people have difficulties in finding the right words to give feedback, sometimes making them sound rude. But I always try to figure out what's the real message there.

—Jsou nějaké trendy v oblasti focení?

—All the time. But me personally, I try to not let trend be the main thing in my photography. Trends are a nice touch, but I want my photography to be timeless.

—Jaké by měl mít zákazník kritérium při výběru fotografa?

—1) Do you like the photographer's work? 2) Do you like the photographer? Simple as that.

—Co není dovoleno při focení?

—'Allowed' is a big word. I'm not the one to say what's allowed or not. However, I don't like to unnecessarily intervene in a wedding. With the exception of the posed shots, I don't like having to tell people what to do, where to stand or how to look.

—Jakých detailů, které obvykle projdou bez povšimnutí, si může fotograf všimnout?

—A good wedding photographer can see beauty in many things, and has a better eye for good light, and good compositions. And also: a photographer is aware of what's going on and can respond quickly when something happens.

—Co ovlivňuje hodnotu fotografie? Jaké jsou její prvky?

—Not only is beauty in the eye of the beholder, but the same thing is true for value. A photograph that might not seem like much to a photographer or ti someone who wasn't there, can be the couple's favorite for many reasons. Never make assumptions.

—Kdo může být podle vás symbolem 21. století?

—I can't look into the future. Sorry ;-)

—Co chcete fotit?

—Kind, fun and creative people that I have a great chemistry with.

—Máte nějaké profesní tabu?

—Not really. Except for stuff that's prohibited by law, off course.

—S kým byste chtěli fotit?

—Too many to mention.

—Čeho se bojíte a proč?

—Sometimes I worry about the future. What will happen if I don't get any more bookings? But I think that every professional thinks that way every now and then. On the other side, it helps me improve and stay on my toes.

—Jaký byl nejpůsobivější okamžik ve vašem životě?

—I can't name just a single one. There are thousands of great moments that are impressive in their own ways.

—Jak byste definovali úspěch? Jak ho měříte?

—Success to me is finding a perfect balance by doing what you love, making a good living out of it, but also having time to live. Because even though I just love shooting weddings, I wouldn't want to shoot 60 weddings a year and have no personal time left.

—Byli byste raději oblíbení nebo respektovaní?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Jaká je největší chyba, kterou jste kdy v práci udělali?

—Not that many, luckily! I once accidentally switched from RAW to TIFF during a wedding. That was a pain in the ass. It cost me a lot more work to process the images, but the clients were happy.

—Když cestujete, co si berete s sebou a proč?

—A small but versatile camera kit. Definitely some analog cameras. And off course, the traveling essentials.

—Existuje něco, co byste si byli raději nekoupili z vašich pomůcek, které vlastníte? A proč?

—Nope.

—Jak se vzděláváte, abyste pořidili lepší fotografie?

—I do mentoring with photographers who are amazing in the aspects of photography that are my weakest points.

—Čí práce vás ovlivnila nejvíce jako fotografa?

—I've never been inspired by certain photographers. I like to look at individual photographs, and analyse what I like about them.

—Jedna věc, kterou byste si přáli vědět, když jste začínali s focením?

—I never thought that photography can be this exhausting! But in a good way.

—Co byste rádi řekli skrze vaše fotografie?

—When looking at my photographs, I want people to feel what they felt when the moment was actually happening.

—Co vás motivuje v dalším focení?

—Getting great feedback from customers, and seeing myself grow and becoming a better photographer.

—Měli vaši rodiče být méně nebo více přísní?

—They have been perfect.

—Pokud byste se mohli vrátit v čase, co byste udělali jinak?

—I would push myself more and especially sooner. It took about 5 years before I started taking myself and my photography really serious. But since I started doing that, I have improved so very much. I wish I'd done that sooner.

—Co o životě na ostatních planetách?

—Nah. There's tons of places for me to explore on this one.

—Kdo jsou vaši hrdinové?

—Everybody who believes in something, in themselves, and work hard to achieve that.

—Pro koho nemáte žádný respekt?

—People who are arrogant, and bring other people down.

—Co děláte ve svém volném čase?

—Cooking, eating, movies, riding my oldtimer bike, and some an occasional cigar.

—Jakou vaši tvář nikdy neuvidí veřejnost?

—I think a lot of people see me as 'the funny guy'. However, I do have a very serious side. I'm a very contemplative person, and I can be fascinated by almost anything.

—Kdy jste zcela spokojeni s vaší prací?

—When one of my own photographs really moves me. When I think: Wow, did I capture that? When it makes me feel proud that I've created these images.

—Věříte v tradiční role mužů a žen?

—Absolutely not.

—Získáváte snadno nové přátele?

—Quite easily. Although sometimes, at first I stay in the background a bit more. I like to evaluate people before I connect to them.

—Kde byste rádi žili?

—Tough question. I've always enjoyed living in the Netherlands, but lately, this feeling of joy has diminished quite a bit. Not because of the horrible weather, but mainly because of the political climate, the discontent of society, the tension. There's a lot going on, a lot of frustrations among a lot of people, causing the general atmosphere to be a lot less relaxed, in my opinion.

—Co je ta nejhloupější věc, na kterou jste kdy přistoupili?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Existuje život po svatbě?

—Certainly. When it's a good marriage, it enriches your life a lot. A bad marriage can bring you down by an equal amount though.

—Máte oblíbený vtip? Povězte nám ho.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Máte rádi psy a kočky?

—I own both. Although I've always considered myself as more of a dog person, I can thoroughly enjoy the relaxed but also stubborn attitude of cats. They have a mind of their own, which I can relate to.

—Koho nebo co nenávidíte?

—I hate it when people aren't real. Off course, everybody has skeletons in their closet. But too many people pretend to be something their not. Relating to that: I also really dislike how much we're being lied to. In advertising, in politics, in a lot of things. There's very little sincerity and authenticity left.

—Nejlepší věc v životě je:

—Love, good company, good food, sex and friendship.

—Nejotravnější věc v životě je:

—Having to type VERY long interviews. Sorry, had to do it ;-)

—Existuje něco, co byste chtěli změnit?

—Yes, quite a few things. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy!

—Co byste chtěli změnit na sobě?

—I'd like to be more patient, and to be able to focus better.

—Co byste chtěli změnit ve světě?

—Total cliché, but peace. There's too much anger, aggression and frustration. Terrorism, war, mass shootings. Things that are making the world ill. I wish that the world would chill a bit more.

—Máte nějaké tipy pro začínající fotografy?

—Be confident, but don't want too much too fast. Take your time to educate and train yourself. Being a good photographer is hard. You don't become one in a year, but that's a trend I'm seeing. People doing a couple of workshops and styled shoots, and calling themselves a professional wedding photographer after that. Workshops and photoshoots are absolutely nothing like shooting a real wedding. So take the time to develop the skills that are needed for doing that.

—Kdyby přišli na naši planetu mimozemšťané a vy byste byli první osobou, se kterou se potkají, co byste jim řekli?

—I'd love to tell them about planet Earth. And I'd love to hear where they're coming from, and also how they got here.

—Pokud byste měli natočit film, jakého žánru by byl?

—Probably something artsy, even though I hate that term. I love movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel.

—Zítra půjdu a udělám...

—shoot a wedding!