Fotograaf Ruud Claessen

—Bent u fotogeniek?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Hoe bent u beland in de fotografie-industrie?

—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.

—Wat zijn volgens u de belangrijkste elementen van een goede 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.

—Houdt u van reizen?

—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.

—Wat vindt u het leukst aan uw beroep?

—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.

—Wat vindt u het minst leuk aan uw beroep?

—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.

—Wat ziet u de toekomst van fotografie?

—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.

—Wat is er bijzonder aan het fotografiegenre waarin u zich specialiseert?

—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.

—Hoe gaat u om met kritiek?

—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.

—Zijn er bepaalde trends in fotografie?

—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.

—Welke criteria moet de klant hanteren bij het kiezen van een fotograaf?

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

—Wat is er totaal uit den boze bij het fotograferen?

—'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.

—Welke details die vaak onopgemerkt gaan, kan een fotograaf vastleggen?

—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.

—Wat beïnvloedt de waarde van een foto? Wat zijn de elementen ervan?

—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.

—Welke persoon kan volgens u symbool staan voor de 21e eeuw?

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

—Wie wil u graag fotograferen?

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

—Heeft u bepaalde taboes op professioneel vlak?

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

—Met wie zou u graag fotograferen?

—Too many to mention.

—Waar maakt u zich zorgen over en waarom?

—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.

—Wat is het meest indrukwekkende moment van uw leven?

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

—Hoe definieert u succes? Hoe meet u het?

—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.

—Bent u liever graag gezien of gerespecteerd?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Wat is de grootste fout die u ooit begaan heeft op professioneel vlak?

—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.

—Wat neemt u mee op reis en waarom?

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

—Is er iets dat u liever niet gekocht had tussen de gadgets die u bezit? Waarom?

—Nope.

—Hoe leert u bij om betere foto's te maken?

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

—Wiens werk heeft u het meest beïnvloed als fotograaf?

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

—Wat had u graag geweten toen u begon als fotograaf?

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

—Wat wil u graag zeggen met uw foto's?

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

—Wat motiveert u om foto's te blijven maken?

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

—Hadden uw ouders strenger of minder streng moeten zijn?

—They have been perfect.

—Wat zou u anders doen als u in de tijd kon terugkeren?

—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.

—Wat denkt u over leven op andere planeten?

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

—Wie zijn uw helden?

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

—Voor wie kan u geen respect opbrengen?

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

—Wat doet u in uw vrije tijd?

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

—Welke kant van u krijgt het publiek niet te zien?

—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.

—Wanneer bent u helemaal tevreden over uw werk?

—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.

—Gelooft u in een traditionele rolverdeling voor man en vrouw?

—Absolutely not.

—Maakt u gemakkelijk vrienden?

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

—Waar zou u graag wonen?

—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.

—Wat is het domste waarmee u ooit akkoord bent gegaan?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Is er een leven na het huwelijk?

—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.

—Heeft u een favoriete mop? Vertel ...

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Houdt u van honden of van katten?

—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.

—Wie of wat haat u?

—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.

—Het beste in het leven is:

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

—Het vervelendste in het leven is:

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

—Is er iets rondom u dat u graag zou veranderen?

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

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan uzelf?

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

—Wat zou u graag veranderen aan de wereld?

—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.

—Kan u tips geven voor beginnende fotografen?

—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.

—Als buitenaardse wezens naar de Aarde komen en u bent de eerste persoon die ze ontmoeten, wat zal u hen dan zeggen?

—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.

—U wordt gevraagd om een film te maken, welk genre wordt het?

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

—Morgen zal ik ... doen

—shoot a wedding!