Фотограф Ruud Claessen

—Вы фотогеничны?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Как вы попали в индустрию фотографии?

—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.

—Как вы считаете, каковы самые важные составляющие хорошей фотографии?

—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.

—Любите путешествовать?

—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.

—Что в вашей профессии вам нравится больше всего?

—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.

—Что в вашей профессии вам нравится меньше всего?

—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.

—Каким вы видите будущее фотографии?

—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.

—Что делает жанр фотографии, в котором вы снимаете, особенным?

—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.

—Как вы относитесь к критике?

—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.

—Есть ли в фотографии своя мода?

—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.

—По каким критериям клиенты должны выбирать своего фотографа?

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

—Чего нельзя допускать при съемке?

—'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.

—Что обычные люди упускают из виду, в то время как фотограф может увидеть?

—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.

—Что влияет на ценность фотографии? Из чего она складывается?

—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.

—Кого бы вы назвали символом XXI века?

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

—Кого бы вы хотели поснимать?

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

—Есть ли у вас какие-то табу в работе?

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

—С кем вы хотели бы поснимать?

—Too many to mention.

—О чем вы беспокоитесь в первую очередь и почему?

—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.

—Расскажите о самом сильном впечатлении в своей жизни.

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

—Как вы определяете успех? Можно ли его измерить?

—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.

—Что для вас важнее: любовь окружающих или уважение?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Расскажите о своей самой большой ошибке в работе.

—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.

—Что вы берете с собой в путешествие и почему?

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

—Есть ли среди вашей техники что-то, чего покупать не следовало бы? Почему вы так считаете?

—Nope.

—Расскажите о своем самообучении: что вы делаете, чтобы стать лучше как фотограф?

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

—Чья работа больше всего повлияла на ваше становление как фотографа?

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

—Как вы считаете, что вам следовало бы знать в первую очередь, когда вы начинали фотографировать?

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

—Что вы хотите донести до людей с помощью фотографии?

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

—Что побуждает вас продолжать заниматься фотографией?

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

—Следовало ли вашим родителям быть более (менее) строгими?

—They have been perfect.

—Если бы можно было вернуться в прошлое, что бы вы сделали иначе?

—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.

—Есть ли жизнь на других планетах?

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

—Кто для вас — пример для подражания?

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

—Кого вы считаете недостойным уважения?

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

—Чем вы занимаетесь в свободное время?

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

—Какая часть вашей личности скрыта от окружающих?

—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.

—В каких случаях вы бываете полностью довольны своей работой?

—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.

—Придаете ли вы значение традиционным ролям мужчин и женщин?

—Absolutely not.

—Легко ли вы заводите друзей?

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

—Где вы хотели бы жить?

—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.

—Расскажите о самой большой глупости, которую вы согласились сделать.

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Есть ли жизнь после свадьбы?

—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.

—У вас есть любимая шутка? Поделитесь с нами!

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Вы любите собак? А кошек?

—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.

—Что или кого вы очень не любите?

—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.

—Самое лучшее в жизни — это:

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

—Самое неприятное в жизни — это:

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

—Есть ли что-то вокруг вас, что вы хотели бы изменить?

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

—Что вы хотели бы изменить в себе?

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

—Что вы хотели бы изменить в мире?

—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.

—Что бы вы посоветовали начинающим фотографам?

—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.

—Если бы на Землю прилетели инопланетяне и вы оказались первым человеком, которого они встретили, что бы вы сказали им?

—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.

—Если бы вам пришлось снимать фильм, в каком жанре он был бы?

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

—Завтра я пойду и сделаю…

—shoot a wedding!