Fotografer Ruud Claessen

—Anda fotogenik?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Bagaimana awal Anda masuk ke bidang fotografi?

—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.

—Apa komponen terpenting dari foto yang baik menurut Anda?

—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.

—Anda suka bepergian?

—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.

—Apa yang paling Anda suka tentang profesi Anda?

—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.

—Apa yang paling tidak Anda suka tentang profesi Anda?

—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.

—Bagaimana masa depan fotografi?

—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.

—Apa yang istimewa dengan genre fotografi kekhususan Anda?

—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.

—Bagaimana Anda menangani 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.

—Adakah tren dalam fotografi?

—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.

—Apa yang seharusnya menjadi kriteria bagi pelanggan dalam memilih fotografer?

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

—Hal-hal apa yang harus dihindari saat pemotretan?

—'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.

—Detail apa yang umumnya lewat tanpa disadari yang tertangkap oleh fotografer?

—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.

—Apa yang memengaruhi nilai sebuah foto? Apa saja elemen-elemennya?

—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.

—Siapa yang dapat menjadi simbol abad ke-21 menurut pendapat Anda?

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

—Siapa yang ingin Anda jepret?

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

—Anda memiliki tabu profesi tertentu?

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

—Dengan siapa Anda ingin menjepret?

—Too many to mention.

—Apa yang Anda khawatirkan, dan mengapa?

—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.

—Apa momen paling mengesankan dalam hidup Anda?

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

—Bagaimana Anda mendefinisikan kesuksesan? Bagaimana Anda mengukurnya?

—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.

—Anda lebih senang disukai atau dihormati?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Apa kesalahan terbesar yang pernah Anda lakukan di tempat kerja?

—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.

—Saat Anda akan bepergian, apa saja barang yang Anda bawa dan mengapa?

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

—Di antara gadget yang Anda miliki, adakah yang Anda harap tidak pernah Anda beli? Mengapa?

—Nope.

—Bagaimana Anda mengajari diri sendiri untuk mengambil gambar yang lebih baik?

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

—Karya siapa yang paling memengaruhi Anda sebagai fotografer?

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

—Apakah satu hal yang Anda harap Anda tahu saat mulai mengambil foto?

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

—Apa yang ingin Anda katakan dengan foto-foto Anda?

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

—Apa yang memotivasi Anda untuk terus mengambil gambar?

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

—Apakah orang tua Anda seharusnya lebih atau tidak terlalu ketat?

—They have been perfect.

—Jika Anda dapat kembali ke masa lalu, apa yang akan Anda lakukan secara berbeda?

—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.

—Bagaimana tentang kehidupan di planet lain?

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

—Siapa saja pahlawan Anda?

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

—Siapa yang tidak Anda hormati?

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

—Apa yang Anda lakukan di waktu luang?

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

—Sisi diri Anda manakah yang tidak pernah dilihat orang?

—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.

—Kapan Anda merasa benar-benar puas dengan pekerjaan Anda?

—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.

—Anda percaya akan peran tradisional untuk pria dan wanita?

—Absolutely not.

—Anda mudah menjalin pertemanan?

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

—Di mana Anda ingin tinggal?

—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.

—Hal terbodoh apa yang pernah Anda setujui untuk dilakukan?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Adakah kehidupan setelah pernikahan?

—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.

—Anda punya lelucon favorit? Beri tahu kami.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Anda suka anjing atau kucing?

—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.

—Siapa atau apa yang Anda benci?

—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.

—Hal terbaik dalam hidup itu:

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

—Hal paling menjengkelkan dalam hidup adalah:

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

—Adakah hal di lingkungan sekitar yang ingin Anda ubah?

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

—Apa yang ingin Anda ubah dalam diri sendiri?

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

—Apa yang ingin Anda ubah di dunia ini?

—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.

—Dapatkah Anda memberi kiat untuk fotografer yang baru saja memulai karier?

—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.

—Jika alien mendatangi Bumi dan Andalah orang pertama yang mereka temui, apa yang akan Anda katakan pada mereka?

—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.

—Jika Anda dipanggil untuk mengambil gambar film, apakah genrenya?

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

—Besok saya akan pergi...

—shoot a wedding!