Fotograaf Ruud Claessen

—Kas sa oled fotogeenne?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Kuidas sa sattusid fotograafiamaailma?

—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.

—Mis on sinu arvates hea foto kõige olulisead komponendid?

—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.

—Kas sulle meeldib reisida?

—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.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige rohkem meeldib?

—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.

—Mis sulle sinu töö juures kõige vähem meeldib?

—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.

—Millisena näed sa fotograafia tulevikku?

—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.

—Mis on sinu fotograafiažanris erilist?

—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.

—Kuidas sa suhtud kriitikasse?

—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.

—Kas fotograafias on teatud trende?

—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.

—Millised peaksid fotograafi valides olema kliendi kriteeriumid?

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

—Mida pildistades kindlasti ei tohiks teha?

—'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.

—Mis võiksid olla need detailid, millele tavaliselt tähelepanu ei pöörata, kuid mida fotograaf võib märgata?

—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.

—Mis teeb fotost väärtusliku? Mis elemendid on olulised?

—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.

—Milline inimene on sinu arvates 21. sajandi sümbol?

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

—Keda sa sooviksid pildistada?

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

—Kas sul on teatud ametialaseid tabusid?

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

—Kellega koos sa tahaksid pildistada?

—Too many to mention.

—Mille pärast sa muretsed ja miks?

—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.

—Mis on olnud su elu kõige kõige muljetavaldavam hetk?

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

—Kuidas sa defineeriksid edu? Kuidas sa seda mõõdad?

—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.

—Kas sa tahaksid, et sa pigem meeldiksid inimestele või et nad austaksid sind?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Mis on suurim viga, mida sa töötades oled teinud?

—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.

—Mida sa endaga reisides kaasa võtad ja miks?

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

—Kas sul on mõni vidin, mida sa omad, aga sooviksid, et poleks ostnud? Miks?

—Nope.

—Kuidas sa ennast koolitad, et paremaks fotograafiks saada?

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

—Kelle töö on sind kui fotograafi kõige rohkem mõjutanud?

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

—Mis oleks see üks asi, mida sa sooviksid, et oleks teadnud enne fotograafiaga alustamist?

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

—Mida sa oma fotodega öelda soovid?

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

—Mis motiveerib sind fotograafina jätkama?

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

—Kas sa arvad, et sinu vanemad oleksid pidanud sinuga olema rangemad või leebemad?

—They have been perfect.

—Kui sa saaksid ajas tagasi minna, mida sa teeksid erinevalt?

—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.

—Kas sa arvad, et teistel planeetidel on elu?

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

—Kes on su kangelased?

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

—Keda sa ei austa?

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

—Mida sa vabal ajal teed?

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

—Millist poolt sinust avalikkus kunagi ei näe?

—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.

—Millal sa oled oma tööga täiesti rahul?

—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.

—Kas sa usud meeste ja naiste traditsioonilistesse rollidesse?

—Absolutely not.

—Kas sa leiad kergesti sõpru?

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

—Kus sa tahaksid elada?

—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.

—Mis on kõige rumalam asi, mida sa kunagi oled nõustunud tegema?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Kas pärast abielu on elu?

—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.

—Kas sul on lemmiknali? Räägi see meile.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Kas sulle meeldivad koerad või kassid?

—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.

—Keda või mida sa vihkad?

—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.

—Parim asi elus on:

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

—Kõige ärritavam asi elus on:

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

—Kas sa näed oma ümber midagi sellist, mida sa tahaksid muuta?

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

—Mida sa iseenda juures tahaksid muuta?

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

—Mida sa maailmas tahaksid muuta?

—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.

—Kas sa võiksid anda mõned näpunäited alustavatele fotograafidele?

—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.

—Kui Maale saabuksid tulnukad ja sina oleksid esimene inimene, keda nad kohtaksid, mida sa neile ütleksid?

—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.

—Kui sul oleks võimalik vändata film, siis mis žanrist see oleks?

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

—Homme hakkan ma...

—shoot a wedding!