Jurufoto Ruud Claessen

—Adakah anda seorang yang fotogenik?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Bagaimanakah anda mula menceburkan diri dalam industri 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.

—Apakah komponen paling penting sekeping foto yang bagus menurut pendapat 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.

—Adakah anda minat mengembara?

—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.

—Apakah yang paling anda sukai mengenai kerjaya 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.

—Apakah yang paling anda tidak suka mengenai kerjaya 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.

—Apakah 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.

—Apakah yang istimewa dalam genre fotografi yang anda sedang mengkhusus?

—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.

—Bagaimanakah cara anda menangani kritikan?

—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 wujud sebarang trend 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.

—Apakah sepatutnya menjadi kriteria untuk seorang pelanggan memilih jurufoto?

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

—Apakah perkara yang patut dielakkan semasa penggambaran?

—'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.

—Apakah perincian yang selalunya terlepas tanpa disedari namun boleh disedari oleh seorang jurufoto?

—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.

—Apakah yang boleh mempengaruhi nilai sekeping foto? Apakah elemen nilai itu?

—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.

—Siapakah individu yang boleh menjadi simbol abad ke-21 menurut pendapat anda?

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

—Siapakah yang mahu anda rakamkan dalam foto?

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

—Adakah anda ada sebarang tabu profesional?

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

—Siapakah orang yang anda mahu merakam foto bersamanya?

—Too many to mention.

—Apakah yang merisaukan anda, 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.

—Apakah detik 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.

—Bagaimanakah anda mentakrifkan kejayaan? Bagaimanakah 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.

—Mana satu yang lebih penting bagi anda, disukai atau dihormati?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Apakah kesilapan terbesar yang pernah anda lakukan ketika bekerja?

—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.

—Apabila anda pergi mengembara, apakah yang anda bawa bersama anda dan mengapa?

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

—Adakah sesuatu yang anda harap anda tidak pernah beli antara banyak gajet milik anda? Mengapa?

—Nope.

—Bagaimanakah anda meningkatkan diri untuk merakam gambar yang lebih baik?

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

—Hasil kerja siapakah yang paling mempengaruhi anda sebagai jurufoto?

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

—Apakah satu perkara yang anda harap anda telah tahu ketika mula merakam foto?

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

—Apakah yang ingin anda sampaikan melalui foto anda?

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

—Apakah yang memotivasikan anda untuk terus mengambil gambar?

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

—Bukankah ibu bapa anda pada satu tahap patut bertegas?

—They have been perfect.

—Jika anda boleh kembali ke masa lalu, apakah yang akan ada lakukan dengan cara berbeza?

—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.

—Bagaimanakah kehidupan di planet lain?

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

—Siapakah hero anda?

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

—Siapakah orang yang anda tidak hormat kepadanya?

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

—Apakah yang anda lakukan pada masa lapang?

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

—Apakah sisi diri anda yang tidak pernah diketahui umum?

—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.

—Bilakah anda akan benar-benar berpuas hati dengan kerja 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.

—Adakah anda percaya dengan peranan tradisi bagi lelaki dan perempuan?

—Absolutely not.

—Adakah anda mudah berkawan?

—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 manakah anda suka untuk 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.

—Apakah perkara paling bodoh pernah anda bersetuju lakukan?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Masih adakah kehidupan selepas perkahwinan?

—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.

—Adakah anda ada lawak kegemaran? Beritahu 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.

—Siapakah atau apakah yang anda tidak suka?

—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.

—Perkara terbaik dalam hidup ialah:

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

—Perkara paling menjengkelkan dalam hidup ialah:

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

—Adakah sesuatu di sekitar anda yang anda ingin ubah?

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

—Apakah yang anda mahu ubah pada diri sendiri?

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

—Apakah yang anda ingin 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.

—Bolehkah anda berikan beberapa petua untuk jurufoto yang baru saja bermula?

—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 makhluk asing datang ke Bumi dan anda ialah orang pertama yang mereka temui, apakah yang akan anda beritahu kepada 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 penggambaran sebuah filem, apakah yang akan menjadi genrenya?

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

—Esok saya akan pergi dan melakukan...

—shoot a wedding!