Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Ste fotogenický?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Ako ste sa dostali do fotografického priemyslu?

—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.

—Aké sú podľa vás najdôležitejšie súčasti dobrej fotografie?

—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.

—Máte radi cestovanie?

—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.

—Čo máte najradšej na vašej profesii?

—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.

—Čo sa vám páči najmenej na vašej profesii?

—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.

—Aká bude budúcnosť fotenia?

—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.

—Čo je výnimočné na žánri fotografií, na ktorý sa špecializujete?

—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.

—Ako zvládate kritiku?

—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.

—Sú nejaké trendy v oblasti 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.

—Aké by mal mať zákazník kritérium pri výbere fotografa?

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

—Čomu sa určite vyhnúť pri práci?

—'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.

—Aké detaily, ktoré zvyčajne prejdú bez povšimnutia, si môže fotograf všimnúť?

—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.

—Čo ovplyvňuje hodnotu fotografie? Aké sú jej prvky?

—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.

—Ktorá osoba môže byť podľa vás symbolom 21. storočia?

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

—Koho chcete fotografovať?

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

—Máte nejaké profesionálne tabu?

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

—S kým by ste chceli fotografovať?

—Too many to mention.

—Čoho sa obávate a prečo?

—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.

—Aký bol váš najpôsobivejší okamih v živote?

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

—Ako definujete úspech? Ako ho meriate?

—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.

—Boli by ste radšej obľúbení alebo rešpektovaní?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Aká je najväčšia chyba, ktorú ste kedy v práci urobili?

—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.

—Keď cestujete, čo si so sebou beriete a prečo?

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

—Existuje niečo, čo by ste si boli radšej nekúpili zo zariadení, ktoré vlastníte? Prečo?

—Nope.

—Ako sa vzdelávate, aby ste robili lepšie fotografie?

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

—Koho práca vás ovplyvnila najviac ako fotografa?

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

—Jedna vec, ktorú by ste chceli vedieť, keď ste začínali s fotením?

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

—Čo by ste chceli povedať cez vaše fotografie?

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

—Čo vás motivuje v ďalšom fotografovaní?

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

—Mali byť vaši rodičia menej alebo viac prísni?

—They have been perfect.

—Ak by ste sa mohli vrátiť v čase, čo by ste urobili inak?

—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.

—Čo tak život na druhých planétach?

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

—Kto sú vaši hrdinovia?

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

—Kto nemá u vás žiadny rešpekt?

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

—Čo robíte vo svojom voľnom čase?

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

—Akú vašu tvár nikdy neukazujte na verejnosti?

—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.

—Kedy ste úplne spokojní s vašou prácou?

—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.

—Veríte v tradičné role mužov a žien?

—Absolutely not.

—Získavate ľahko nových priateľov?

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

—Kde by ste radi žili?

—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.

—Čo je tá najhlúpejšia vec, na ktorú ste kedy pristúpili?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Existuje život po svadbe?

—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.

—Máte obľúbený vtip? Povedzte nám ho.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Máte radi psy alebo mačky?

—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.

—Koho alebo čo nenávidíte?

—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.

—Najlepšia vec v živote je:

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

—Najviac znepokojujúca vec v živote je:

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

—Existuje niečo okolo vás, čo by ste chceli zmeniť?

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

—Čo by ste chceli zmeniť na sebe?

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

—Čo by ste chceli zmeniť vo svete?

—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.

—Môžete dať niekoľko tipov pre fotografov, ktorí práve začínajú?

—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.

—Keby prišli na našu planétu mimozemšťania a vy by ste boli prvou osobou, s ktorou sa stretnú, čo by ste im povedali?

—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.

—Ak by ste mali natočiť film, aký žáner by to bol?

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

—Zajtra pôjdem a urobím...

—shoot a wedding!