Fotografo Ruud Claessen

—Sei fotogenico?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Come sei entrato nell'industria della fotografia?

—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.

—Secondo te, quali sono le componenti più importanti di una bella foto?

—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.

—Ti piace viaggiare?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di più nella tua professione?

—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.

—Che cosa ti piace di meno nella tua professione?

—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.

—Quale sarà il futuro della fotografia?

—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.

—Cosa c'è di speciale nel genere di fotografia in cui sei specializzato?

—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.

—Come gestisci la critica?

—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.

—Ci sono determinate tendenze nella fotografia?

—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.

—Quali criteri dovrebbe utilizzare un cliente per scegliere un fotografo?

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

—Che cosa non è ammesso durante la ripresa fotografica?

—'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.

—Quali dettagli, che solitamente passano inosservati, riesce a notare un fotografo?

—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.

—Che cosa influisce sul valore di una foto? Quali sono le sue componenti?

—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.

—Secondo te, chi può essere considerato simbolo del XXI secolo?

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

—Chi vorresti fotografare?

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

—Hai qualche tabù professionale?

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

—Con chi vorresti fare una sessione di ripresa fotografica?

—Too many to mention.

—Che cosa ti fa preoccupare e perché?

—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.

—Qual è stato il momento più impressionante della tua vita?

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

—Come puoi definire il successo? Come si misura?

—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.

—Preferiresti essere amato o rispettato?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Qual è stato il più grande errore che hai commesso nel lavoro?

—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.

—Preparandoti per partire, che cosa metteresti in valigia e perché?

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

—Tra i gadget che possiedi, c'è qualcosa che vorresti non aver comprato? Perché?

—Nope.

—Che formazione professionale segui per fare fotografie migliori?

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

—Il lavoro di chi ha avuto la maggiore influenza su di te come fotografo?

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

—Qual è l'unica cosa che vorresti aver saputo iniziando a scattare foto?

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

—Che cosa vuoi dire con le tue fotografie?

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

—Qual è la tua motivazione per continuare a scattare fotografie?

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

—Pensi che i tuoi genitori avrebbero dovuto essere più o meno severi?

—They have been perfect.

—Se potessi tornare nel passato, che cosa faresti in modo diverso?

—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.

—Che cosa pensi della vita su altri pianeti?

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

—Chi sono i tuoi eroi?

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

—Per chi non hai rispetto?

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

—Che cosa fai nel tuo tempo libero?

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

—Quale lato di te non è mai visibile al pubblico?

—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.

—Quando ti senti completamente soddisfatto dal tuo lavoro?

—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.

—Credi nei ruoli tradizionali di donne e uomini?

—Absolutely not.

—Fai facilmente amicizia?

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

—Dove ti piacerebbe vivere?

—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.

—Qual è stata la cosa più stupida che hai accettato di fare?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Esiste la vita dopo il 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.

—Hai uno scherzo preferito? Raccontacelo.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Ti piacciono i cani o i gatti?

—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.

—Chi o che cosa odi?

—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.

—La cosa migliore nella vita è:

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

—La cosa più fastidiosa nella vita è:

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

—C'è qualcosa intorno a te che vorresti cambiare?

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

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare in te stesso?

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

—Che cosa vorresti cambiare nel mondo?

—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.

—Puoi dare alcuni consigli ai fotografi alle prime armi?

—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.

—Se gli alieni dovessero arrivare sulla Terra e tu fossi la prima persona ad incontrarli, che cosa diresti?

—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.

—Se dovessi essere invitato a girare un film, di che genere sarebbe?

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

—Domani vado a fare...

—shoot a wedding!