Fotógrafo Ruud Claessen

—Você é fotogénica(o)?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Como se iniciou na indústria da 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.

—Em sua opinião, quais são os componentes mais importantes para uma boa fotografia?

—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.

—Gosta de viajar?

—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.

—O que mais gosta na sua profissão?

—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.

—O que menos gosta na sua profissão?

—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.

—Qual será o futuro da 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.

—O que há de especial para si, no género de fotografia em que se especializou?

—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.

—Como lida com as críticas?

—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.

—Existem tendências na 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.

—Quais deveriam ser os critérios considerados pelo cliente na escolha de um fotógrafo?

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

—O que não é permitido de todo ao fotografar?

—'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.

—Que detalhes passam habitualmente despercebidos mas nos quais um fotógrafo repara?

—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.

—O que influencia o valor da foto? Quais são os seus elementos?

—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.

—Na sua opinião, que pessoa poderá ser o símbolo do século XXI?

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

—O que pretende fotografar?

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

—Tem tabus profissionais?

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

—Com quem gostaria de fotografar?

—Too many to mention.

—Com que se preocupa e porquê?

—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 foi o momento mais impressionante na sua vida?

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

—Como define o sucesso? Como o afere?

—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.

—Gostaria mais de ser amado ou respeitado?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Qual foi o maior erro que já cometeu a nível profissional?

—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.

—Quando vai viajar, o que leva consigo e porquê?

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

—Está arrependido de ter adquirido algum dos gadgets que possui? Porquê?

—Nope.

—Como aprende a tirar fotos melhores?

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

—Que trabalho mais o influenciou como fotógrafo?

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

—Qual é a coisa que mais gostaria de ter sabido quando começou a fotografar?

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

—O que pretende transmitir com as suas fotos?

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

—O que o motiva a continuar a fotografar?

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

—Os seus pais deveriam ter sido mais ou menos rigorosos?

—They have been perfect.

—Se pudesse regredir no tempo, o que faria de diferente?

—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.

—O que pensa da vida nos outros planetas?

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

—Quem são os seus heróis?

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

—A quem é que não respeita?

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

—O que faz nos seus tempos livres?

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

—Qual é o seu lado que o público nunca vê?

—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 é que fica completamente satisfeito com o seu trabalho?

—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.

—Acredita nos papéis tradicionais reservados ao homem e à mulher?

—Absolutely not.

—Faz amigos com facilidade?

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

—Onde gostaria de viver?

—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 foi a coisa mais estúpida que concordou em fazer?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Existe vida depois do casamento?

—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.

—Tem uma anedota favorita? Conte-nos.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Gosta de cães e gatos?

—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.

—A quem ou o que odeia?

—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.

—A melhor coisa na vida é:

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

—A coisa mais irritante na vida é:

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

—Existe algo em seu redor que gostaria de mudar?

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

—O que gostaria de mudar em si próprio?

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

—O que gostaria de mudar no mundo?

—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.

—Pode dar algumas dicas para fotógrafos principiantes?

—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.

—Caso os alienígenas viessem para a Terra, e fosse a primeira pessoa a encontrá-los, o que lhes diria?

—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 fosse chamado para fazer um filme, que género escolheria?

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

—Amanhã eu vou fazer...

—shoot a wedding!