Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Er du fotogen?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Hvordan blev du en del af fotografiindustrien?

—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.

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

—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.

—Elsker du at rejse?

—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.

—Hvad kan du bedst lide ved dit fag?

—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.

—Hvad synes du mindre godt om ved dit fag?

—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.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ud for fotografering?

—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.

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

—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.

—Hvordan håndterer du kritik?

—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.

—Er der nogen tendenser inden for fotografering?

—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.

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

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

—Hvilke ting er slet ikke tilladt under fotograferingen?

—'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.

—Hvilke detaljer, der som regel går ubemærket hen, vil en fotograf bemærke?

—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.

—Hvad påvirker værdien af et foto? Hvilke elementer indeholder det?

—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.

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

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

—Hvem vil du gerne fotografere?

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

—Har du nogen professionelle tabuemner?

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

—Hvem ville du gerne fotografere sammen med?

—Too many to mention.

—Hvad bekymrer du dig om, og hvorfor?

—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.

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

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

—Hvordan definerer du succes? Hvordan måler du det?

—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.

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

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

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

—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.

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

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

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

—Nope.

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

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

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

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

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

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

—Hvad vil du gerne fortælle med dine fotografier?

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

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

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

—Burde dine forældre have været mere eller mindre strikse?

—They have been perfect.

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

—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.

—Hvad med liv på andre planeter?

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

—Hvem er dine helte?

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

—Hvem har du ingen respekt for?

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

—Hvad laver du i din fritid?

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

—Hvilken side af dig viser du aldrig offentligt?

—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.

—Hvornår er du helt tilfreds med dit arbejde?

—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.

—Tror du på de traditionelle mande- og kvinderoller?

—Absolutely not.

—Har du let ved at få nye venner?

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

—Hvor vil du gerne bo?

—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.

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

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Er der liv efter ægteskabet?

—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.

—Har du en yndlingsvittighed? Fortæl den til os.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Kan du lide hunde eller katte?

—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.

—Hvem eller hvad hader du?

—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.

—Det bedste ved livet er:

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

—Det mest irriterende ved livet er:

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

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

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

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre ved dig selv?

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

—Hvad vil du gerne ændre i verden?

—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.

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

—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.

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

—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.

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

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

—I morgen tager jeg ud og...

—shoot a wedding!