写真家Ruud Claessen氏

—写真写りは良い方ですか？

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—どうして写真撮影業界に入ったのですか？

—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.

—良い写真を撮影するにあたって最も重要な要素とは何であるか、ご意見をお聞かせいただけますでしょうか？

—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.

—旅行が好きですか？

—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.

—あなたの職業について一番好きなことは何ですか？

—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.

—あなたの職業について一番嫌いなことは何ですか？

—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.

—未来の写真撮影とはどのようなものでしょうか？

—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.

—あなたが専門とする特別な写真撮影のジャンルは？

—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.

—批判に対処するには？

—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.

—写真撮影でトレンドはありますか？

—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.

—写真家選択の際に、お客様が基準とすべきことは何ですか？

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

—撮影の際、絶対に受け入れがたいことは何でしょうか？

—'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.

—写真家が気づくことができる普段は見過ごさせる細かい点は何ですか？

—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.

—写真の価値に影響を与えるものとは何でしょうか？その要因は？

—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.

—どのような人物が 21世紀を象徴する人物になり得るとお考えでしょうか？

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

—どんな人を撮影したいですか？

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

—プロとしてタブーとしている事はありますか？

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

—誰と一緒に写真を撮りたいですか？

—Too many to mention.

—心配事はありますか。またその理由は何でしょうか？

—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.

—人生において最も印象的な瞬間とは何でしょうか？

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

—あなたによって成功とは何でしょうか？また、それをどのように評価していますか？

—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.

—好かれたり、尊敬されたりするほうですか？

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—これまで仕事上で犯した最大のミスは何ですか？

—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.

—旅行に出かける際には何を持っていきますか。また、それは何故ですか？

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

—所有しているガジェットの中で買わなければ良かったと思っているものはありますか？また、それは何故でしょうか？

—Nope.

—より良い写真を撮るために、どのように腕を磨いていますか？

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

—写真家として、誰の作品に一番影響を受けましたか？

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

—写真撮影を始めた頃、知っていればよかったと思う事は何でしょうか？

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

—自分の写真に対して何かコメントはありますか？

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

—写真撮影を続けさせる動機は何でしょうか？

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

—ご両親は多かれ少なかれ、厳しい方だったのではないですか？

—They have been perfect.

—過去に戻ることができるとしたら、違ったようにやりたいことはありますか？

—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.

—他の惑星にいる生命体はどうでしょう？

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

—あなたのヒーローは誰ですか？

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

—あなたが敬意を払わない人はどんな人ですか？

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

—オフは何をしていますか？

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

—人前では絶対に見せない、あなたのもう一つの側面とは何でしょうか？

—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.

—自分の作品に十分に満足するのはどんな時ですか？

—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.

—男性と女性の伝統的な役割の正当性を信じていますか？

—Absolutely not.

—簡単に友達になることができますか？

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

—どこに住みたいですか？

—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.

—今までにやることを同意した事の中で、一番くだらない事は何でしょうか？

—In photography...or... ;-)

—結婚後に人生は存在すると思いますか？

—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.

—お気に入りのジョークはありますか？教えていただけますか。

—I can't. It's too gross.

—犬や猫が好きですか？

—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.

—嫌いな人物や物はありますか？

—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.

—人生における最高のこと：

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

—人生で最も厄介なこと：

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

—何か変えたいと思っていることはありますか？

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

—自分を変えたいと思っていますか？

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

—この世界の何を変えたいと思いますか？

—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.

—新米の写真家にコツを教えていただけますか？

—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.

—もし宇宙人が地球にやってきて、あなたが最初にその宇宙人に出会うのだとしたら何を話しますか？

—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.

—もし映画の撮影を依頼されたら、どのようなジャンルを撮影しますか？

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

—明日、これをしにいくつもりです...

—shoot a wedding!