Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Sind Sie fotogen?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Wie sind sind zur Fotografiebranche gekommen?

—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.

—Was macht Ihrer Meinung nach ein gutes Foto aus?

—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.

—Reisen Sie gern?

—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.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am meisten?

—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.

—Was gefällt Ihnen an Ihrem Beruf am wenigsten?

—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.

—Was ist die Zukunft der Fotografie?

—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.

—Was das Besondere an dem Fotografiegenre, auf das Sie sich spezialisiert haben?

—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.

—Wie gehen Sie mit Kritik um?

—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.

—Gibt es irgendwelche Trends in der Fotografie?

—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.

—Was sollten die Kriterien für Kunden bei der Wahl eines Fotografen sein?

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

—Was ist bei Fotoaufnahmen strikt verboten?

—'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.

—Welche Details werden häufig übersehen, die ein Fotograf aber erkennt?

—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.

—Was beeinflusst den Wert eines Fotos? Welche Elemente sind wichtig?

—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.

—Welche Person verkörpert für Sie das 21. Jahrhundert am besten?

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

—Was würden Sie gern fotografieren?

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

—Gibt es für Sie in Ihrem Beruf Tabus?

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

—Mit wem würden Sie gern fotografieren?

—Too many to mention.

—Worüber machen Sie sich Sorgen und warum?

—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.

—Was war der eindrucksvollste Moment in Ihrem Leben?

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

—Wie definieren Sie Erfolg? Wie messen Sie ihn?

—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.

—Gefällt es Ihnen mehr, wenn man Sie mag oder wenn Sie respektiert werden?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Was war der größte Fehler bei Ihrer Arbeit?

—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.

—Was nehmen Sie mit, wenn Sie auf Reisen gehen und warum?

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

—Haben Sie Apparate oder Ausrüstung, die Sie lieber nicht hätten kaufen sollen? Warum?

—Nope.

—Wie bilden Sie sich weiter, damit Ihre Bilder noch besser werden?

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

—Welche Arbeiten haben Sie als Fotografen am meisten beeindruckt?

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

—Was hätten Sie auf jeden Fall wissen müssen, als Sie mit der Fotografie begannen?

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

—Was möchten Sie mit Ihren Fotos zum Ausdruck bringen?

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

—Was motiviert Sie weiterzumachen?

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

—Hätten Ihre Eltern strenger sein müssen?

—They have been perfect.

—Wenn Sie zurückschauen, was hätten Sie besser machen können?

—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.

—Was halten Sie vom Leben auf anderen Planeten?

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

—Wer sind Ihre Helden?

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

—Wovor haben Sie keinerlei Respekt?

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

—Was tun Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?

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

—Welche Seite Ihrer Persönlichkeit bleibt dem Publikum verborgen?

—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.

—Wann sind Sie mit Ihrer Arbeit in jeder Hinsicht zufrieden?

—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.

—Glauben Sie an die traditionellen Rollen von Mann und Frau?

—Absolutely not.

—Schließen Sie schnell Freundschaft?

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

—Wo würden Sie gern leben?

—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.

—Was war das Dümmste, auf das Sie sich je eingelassen haben?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Gibt es ein Leben nach der Heirat?

—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.

—Haben Sie einen Lieblingswitz? Erzählen Sie ihn.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Lieben Sie Hunde oder Katzen?

—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.

—Wen oder was hassen Sie?

—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.

—Das Beste im Leben ist:

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

—Das Ärgerlichste im Leben ist:

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

—Gibt es etwas in Ihrem Umfeld, das Sie ändern möchten?

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

—Was würden Sie an sich selbst gern ändern?

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

—Was würden Sie in der Welt ändern?

—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.

—Haben Sie ein paar Tipps für angehende Fotografen?

—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.

—Wenn Außerirdische auf der Erde ankommen und Sie sind die erste Person, die sie treffen, was sagen Sie zu ihnen?

—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.

—Angenommen Sie erhalten den Auftrag, einen Film aufzunehmen. Welches Genre würden Sie für den Film wählen?

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

—Morgen werde ich...

—shoot a wedding!