Fotograf Ruud Claessen

—Fotogenični ste?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Kako ste ušli u svet fotografije?

—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.

—Šta smatrate da su ključni elementi dobre fotografije?

—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.

—Volite putovanja?

—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.

—Šta najviše volite u vezi sa svojim zanimanjem?

—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.

—Šta najmanje volite u vezi sa svojim zanimanjem?

—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.

—Kakva će biti budućnost fotografije?

—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.

—Šta je posebno kod vrste fotografije koja je vaša specijalnost?

—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.

—Kako podnosite 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.

—Da li u fotografiji postoje trendovi?

—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.

—Šta treba da budu kriterijumi kada klijent bira fotografa?

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

—Šta treba izbegavati kod snimanja?

—'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.

—Koje najčešće neprimetne detalje primećuje fotograf?

—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.

—Šta utiče na vrednost fotografije? Šta su njeni elementi?

—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.

—Za koju ličnost smatrate da bi mogla da bude simbol 21. veka?

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

—Koga biste želeli da fotografišete?

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

—Da li za vas u poslu postoji nešto zabranjeno?

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

—Sa kim biste želeli da sarađujete?

—Too many to mention.

—Šta vas brine i zašto?

—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.

—Koji trenutak u vašem životu je bio najupečatljiviji?

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

—Šta za vas znači uspeh? Kako ga merite?

—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.

—Da li biste pre bili voljeni ili poštovani?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Šta je najveća greška koju ste do sada napravili u poslu?

—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.

—Šta nosite sa sobom na putovanja i zašto?

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

—Da li ima nešto među vašim alatkama čiju kupovinu ste zažalili? Zašto?

—Nope.

—Kako se edukujete da biste bolje fotografisali?

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

—Čiji rad je najviše uticao na vas kao fotografa?

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

—Šta biste voleli da ste znali kad ste tek postali fotograf?

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

—Šta želite da poručite svojim fotografijama?

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

—Šta vas motiviše da se i dalje bavite fotografijom?

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

—Da li mislite da su vaši roditelji bili premalo ili previše strogi?

—They have been perfect.

—Da možete da se vratite u prošlost, šta biste uradili drugačije?

—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.

—Šta mislite o životu na drugim planetama?

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

—Ko su vaši heroji?

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

—Prema kome nemate nimalo poštovanja?

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

—Kako provodite slobodno vreme?

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

—Koji deo sebe nikada ne pokazujete javno?

—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.

—Kad ste potpuno zadovoljni svojim radom?

—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.

—Da li verujete u tradicionalne uloge muškaraca i žena?

—Absolutely not.

—Da li lako sklapate prijateljstva?

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

—Gde biste voleli da živite?

—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.

—Šta je najgluplja stvar u životu koju ste pristali da uradite?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Da li postoji život posle braka?

—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.

—Imate omiljeni vic? Prepričajte nam ga.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Da li volite pse ili mačke?

—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.

—Da li postoji neko ili nešto što mrzite?

—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.

—Najbolja stvar u životu je:

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

—Najiritantnija stvar u životu je:

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

—Da li ima nešto u vašem okruženju što biste promenili?

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

—Šta biste promenili kod sebe?

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

—Šta biste promenili u svetu?

—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.

—Da li imate neki savet za fotografe koji tek počinju?

—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.

—Kad bi vanzemaljci došli na Zemlju i prvo sreli vas, šta biste im rekli?

—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.

—Kad bi vas zvali da snimite film, koji biste žanr izabrali?

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

—Od sutra ću da…

—shoot a wedding!