Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Er du fotogen?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Hvordan ble du en del av fotografbransjen?

—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.

—Hva er de viktigste komponentene i et bra bilde etter din mening?

—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.

—Er du glad i å reise?

—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.

—Hva liker du best med yrket ditt?

—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.

—Hva liker du minst med yrket ditt?

—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.

—Hvordan ser fremtiden ut for fotografering?

—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.

—Hva er det spesielle med den fotografisjanger du har spesialisert deg i?

—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.

—Hvordan takler du kritikk?

—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.

—Finnes det noen trender innen fotografering?

—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.

—Hva bør kriteriene være for en kunde som skal velge en fotograf?

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

—Hvilke ting er absolutt ikke tillatt under fotograferingen?

—'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.

—Hvilke detaljer, som vanligvis ingen ville lagt merke til, kan en fotograf fange opp?

—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.

—Hva påvirker bildets verdi? Hvilke elementer inneholder det?

—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.

—Hvilken person kan være symbolet på det 21. århundre etter din mening?

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

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere?

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

—Har du noen yrkesmessige tabuer?

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

—Hvem kunne du tenkt deg å fotografere sammen med?

—Too many to mention.

—Hva bekymrer deg, og hvorfor?

—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.

—Hva er det mest imponerende øyeblikket i livet ditt?

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

—Hvordan definerer du suksess? Hvordan måler du graden av suksess?

—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.

—Foretrekker du å bli likt eller respektert?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Hva er den største tabben du noensinne har gjort på jobben?

—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.

—Når du skal ut å reise; hva tar du med deg, og hvorfor?

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

—Er de noe blant dine gadgets du angrer på å ha kjøpt? Hvorfor?

—Nope.

—Hvordan utdanner du deg for stadig å ta bedre bilder?

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

—Hvem sitt arbeid har inspirert deg mest som fotograf?

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

—Hva spesifikt skulle du ønske at du visste da du begynte å fotografere?

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

—Hva ønsker du å formidle gjennom dine bilder?

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

—Hva motiverer deg til å fortsette med fotografering?

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

—Skulle foreldrene dine ha vært mer eller mindre strenge?

—They have been perfect.

—Hva ville du ha gjort annerledes hvis du kunne reise tilbake i tid?

—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.

—Hva tenker du angående liv på andre planeter?

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

—Hvem er dine helter?

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

—Hvem har du absolutt ingen respekt for?

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

—Hva gjør du i fritiden din?

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

—Hvilken side av deg viser du aldri offentlig?

—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.

—Når er du helt fornøyd med arbeidet ditt?

—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.

—Tror du på tradisjonelle manne- og kvinneroller?

—Absolutely not.

—Har du lett for å få nye venner?

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

—Hvor kunne du tenke deg å bo?

—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.

—Hva er de teiteste du noensinne har gått med på å gjøre?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Finnes det et liv etter bryllupet?

—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.

—Har du en favorittspøk? Fortell.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Liker du hunder eller katter?

—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.

—Hvem eller hva hater du?

—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.

—Det beste i livet er:

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

—Det mest irriterende i livet er:

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

—Er det noe omkring du kunne tenkt deg å forandre på?

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

—Hva hos deg selv kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

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

—Hva i verden kunne du tenkt deg å endre på?

—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 du komme med noen gode råd til fotografer i startfasen?

—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.

—Forestill deg at romvesener ankommer jorda, og at du er den første de treffer. Hva ville du sagt til dem?

—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.

—Hvis du ble spurt om å spille inn en film, hvilken sjanger ville den være?

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

—I morgen skal jeg...

—shoot a wedding!