Valokuvaaja Ruud Claessen

—Oletko valokuvauksellinen?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Miten päädyit valokuvausalalle?

—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.

—Mikä on sinusta tärkeintä hyvässä kuvassa?

—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.

—Tykkäätkö matkustamisesta?

—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.

—Mistä pidät eniten ammatissasi?

—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.

—Mistä pidät vähiten ammatissasi?

—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.

—Mikä on valokuvauksen tulevaisuus?

—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.

—Mikä on sille valokuvauslajille erityistä, johon olet erikoistunut?

—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.

—Kuinka suhtaudut kritiikkiin?

—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.

—Onko valokuvauksessa trendejä?

—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.

—Minkä kriteerien perusteella asiakkaan pitäisi valita valokuvaaja?

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

—Mikä on ehdottomasti kiellettyä kuvauksessa?

—'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.

—Mitkä yksityiskohdat, jotka yleensä jäävät huomaamatta, valokuvaaja voi tallettaa?

—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.

—Mikä vaikuttaa kuvan arvoon? Mikä kuvissa on tärkeintä?

—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.

—Kuka on sinun mielestäsi 2000-vuosisadan symboli?

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

—Ketä haluaisit kuvata?

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

—Onko sinulla ammatillisia tabuja?

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

—Kenen kanssa haluaisit kuvata?

—Too many to mention.

—Mistä huolehdit ja miksi?

—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.

—Mikä on ollut elämäsi vaikuttavin hetki?

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

—Miten ja millä perusteella määrittelisit menestyksen?

—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.

—Haluaisitko olla mieluummin tykätty vai kunnioitettu?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Mikä on suurin virheesi, jonka olet tehnyt työssäsi?

—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.

—Kun lähdet matkalle, mitä otat mukaasi ja miksi?

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

—Oletko koskaan toivonut, ettet olisi ostanut jotain omistamistasi vempaimista? Miksi?

—Nope.

—Miten opettelet ottamaan parempia kuvia?

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

—Kuka on vaikuttanut eniten ammattiisi valokuvaajana?

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

—Minkä yhden asian olisit toivonut tietäväsi, kun aloitit kuvaamisen?

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

—Mitä haluat ilmaista valokuvillasi?

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

—Mikä motivoi sinua jatkamaan kuvausta?

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

—Olisiko vanhempiesi pitänyt olla tiukempia tai päinvastoin?

—They have been perfect.

—Jos voisit palata ajassa taaksepäin, mitä tekisit eri tavalla?

—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.

—Uskotko, että muilla planeetoilla on elämää?

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

—Ketkä ovat sankareitasi?

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

—Ketä et kunnioita?

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

—Mitä teet vapaa-ajallasi?

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

—Mitä puolta yleisö ei koskaan näe sinussa?

—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.

—Milloin olet täysin tyytyväinen työhösi?

—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.

—Uskotko miesten ja naisten perinteisiin rooleihin?

—Absolutely not.

—Saatko helposti ystäviä?

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

—Missä haluaisit asua?

—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.

—Mikä on typerin asia, johon olet koskaan suostunut?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Jatkuuko elämä avioliiton jälkeen?

—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.

—Onko sinulla suosikkivitsiä? Kerro pois.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Pidätkö koirista vai kissoista?

—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.

—Ketä tai mitä vihaat?

—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.

—Parasta elämässä on:

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

—Ärsyttävintä elämässä on:

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

—Haluaisitko muuttaa mitään ympärilläsi?

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

—Mitä haluaisit muuttaa itsessäsi?

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

—Mitä haluaisit muuttaa maailmassa?

—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.

—Haluaisitko antaa vinkkejä aloitteleville valokuvaajille?

—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.

—Jos Maahan saapuisi avaruusolioita ja he näkisivät sinut ensimmäisenä, mitä sanoisit heille?

—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.

—Jos sinut kutsuttaisiin kuvaamaan elokuvaa, mitä tyylilajia se edustaisi?

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

—Huomenna aion...

—shoot a wedding!