Fotógrafo Ruud Claessen

—¿Es usted fotogénico(a)?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—¿Cómo empezó a trabajar en la industria de fotografía?

—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.

—¿En su opinión, cuáles son los elementos más importantes de una buena fotografía?

—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.

—¿Le gusta viajar?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta más de su profesión?

—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.

—¿Qué le gusta menos de su profesión?

—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.

—¿Cuál será el futuro de la fotografía?

—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.

—¿Qué tiene de especial el género fotográfico en que trabaja?

—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.

—¿Cómo gestiona las críticas?

—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.

—¿Existe alguna tendencia en la fotografía?

—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.

—¿Qué criterios debería tener en cuenta una persona a la hora de elegir a un fotógrafo?

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

—¿Qué no está permitido de ningún modo cuando realiza una fotografía?

—'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.

—¿Qué detalles que normalmente no tenemos en cuenta puede un fotógrafo captar?

—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.

—¿Qué influye en el valor de una fotografía? ¿Cuáles son sus elementos?

—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.

—En su opinión, ¿qué persona podría ser un símbolo del siglo XXI?

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

—¿A quién le gustaría fotografiar?

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

—¿Tiene tabúes profesionales?

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

—¿Con quién le gustaría fotografiarse?

—Too many to mention.

—¿Qué le preocupa y por qué?

—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.

—¿Cuál ha sido el momento más impactante de su vida?

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

—¿Cómo definiría el éxito? ¿Cómo lo mide?

—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.

—¿Qué prefiere, gustar o sentirse respetado?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—¿Cuál es el mayor error que ha cometido en su trabajo?

—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.

—Cuando va de viaje, ¿qué lleva consigo y por qué?

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

—¿Se arrepiente de alguno de los gadgets que ha comprado? ¿Por qué?

—Nope.

—¿Cómo se forma para tomar las mejores imágenes?

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

—¿A quién pertenece el trabajo que le ha influenciado más como fotógrafo?

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

—¿Cuál es la única cosa que desearía haber sabido cuando comenzó a tomar fotografías?

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

—¿Qué desea decir con sus fotografías?

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

—¿Qué le motiva a continuar tomando imágenes?

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

—¿Cree que sus padres deberían haber sido más o menos estrictos?

—They have been perfect.

—¿Si pudiera volver atrás en el tiempo, qué haría de forma diferente?

—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.

—¿Qué piensa de la vida en otros planetas?

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

—¿Quiénes son sus héroes?

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

—¿Por quién no siente respeto?

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

—¿Qué hace en su tiempo libre?

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

—¿Cuál es su lado desconocido que la gente nunca quiere ver?

—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.

—¿Está complemente satisfecho de su trabajo?

—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.

—¿Cree en los roles tradicionales de hombres y mujeres?

—Absolutely not.

—¿Hace amigos con facilidad?

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

—¿Dónde le gustaría vivir?

—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.

—¿Cuál es la cosa más estúpida que ha aceptado hacer?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—¿Hay vida después del matrimonio?

—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.

—¿Tiene un chiste favorito? Cuéntenoslo.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—¿Le gustan los perros o los gatos?

—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.

—¿A quién o qué odia?

—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.

—Lo mejor de su vida es:

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

—Lo más molesto de su vida es:

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

—¿Hay algo a su alrededor que le gustaría cambiar?

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

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar de usted mismo?

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

—¿Qué le gustaría cambiar del mundo?

—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.

—¿Podría ofrecer algunos consejos a los fotógrafos que empiezan?

—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.

—Si los extraterrestres llegaran a la Tierra y fuera la primera persona que encontraran, ¿qué les diría?

—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.

—Si le llamaran como fotógrafo de una película, ¿a qué género pertenecería?

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

—Mañana voy a hacer...

—shoot a wedding!