Photographer Ruud Claessen

—Ikaw ba ay photogenic?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Paano ka nagsimula sa industriya ng photography?

—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.

—Ano ang mga mahahalagang bahagi ng isang magandang larawan sa iyong opinyon?

—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.

—Mahilig ka ba maglakbay?

—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.

—Ano ang pinakagusto mo sa iyong propesyon?

—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.

—Ano ang hindi mo gusto sa iyong propesyon?

—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.

—Ano ang magiging kinabukasan ng photography?

—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.

—Ano ang espesyal sa kategorya ng photography kung saan ka dalubhasa?

—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.

—Paano ka tumatanggap ng pagpuna?

—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.

—Mayroon bang mga trend ang photography?

—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.

—Ano ang dapat na pamantayan ng isang customer sa pagpili ng photographer?

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

—Ano ang mga bagay na dapat iwasan kapag kumukuha ng larawan?

—'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.

—Ano ang mga detalye na kadalasan ay hindi napapansin na napapansin ng photographer?

—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.

—Ano ang mga umiimpluwensya sa kahalagahan ng isang larawan? Ano ang mga element nito?

—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.

—Sinong tao ang sumisimbolo sa ika-21 siglo sa iyong opinyon?

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

—Sino ang gusto mong kuhaan?

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

—Mayroon ka bang mga propesyonal na ipinagbabawal?

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

—Sino ang gusto mong makasama sa pagkuha ng larawan?

—Too many to mention.

—Ano ang ikinababahala mo, at bakit?

—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.

—Ano ang pinakahanga-hangang pagkakataon sa iyong buhay?

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

—Paano mo binibigyang kahulugan ang tagumpay? Paano mo tinitimbang ito?

—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.

—Mas pipiliin mo bang magustuhan o nirerespeto?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Ano ang pinakamalaking pagkakamali ang nagawa mo sa trabaho?

—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.

—Kapag ikaw ay naglalakbay, ano ang dinadala mo at bakit?

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

—Mayroon ka bang kahilingan na hindi mo pa nabibili maliban sa mga gadget na mayroon ka? Bakit?

—Nope.

—Paano mo tinuturuan ang sarili mo na kumuha ng mas magagandang mga larawan?

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

—Kaninong mga gawa ang may malaking nagimpluwensiya sa iyo bilang photographer?

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

—Ano ang isang bagay na nais mong malaman noong nagumpisa ka sa pagkuha ng mga larawan?

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

—Ano ang nais mong sabihin sa iyong mga larawan?

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

—Ano ang nag-uudyok sa iyo na ipagpatuloy ang pagkuha ng mga larawan?

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

—Ang iyong magulang ba ay dapat naging mas o hindi gaanong istrikto?

—They have been perfect.

—Kung maaari mong balikan ang nakaraan, ano ang babaguhin mo?

—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.

—Paano naman ang buhay sa ibang mga planeta?

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

—Sino ang iyong mga bayani?

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

—Kanino ka walang respeto?

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

—Ano ang iyong ginagawa sa iyong bakanteng oras?

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

—Anong bahagi mo ang hindi nakikita ng publiko?

—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.

—Kailan ka ganap na nasisiyahan sa iyong trabaho?

—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.

—Naniniwala ka ba sa tradisyunal na mga papel para mga sa lalaki at babae?

—Absolutely not.

—Mabilis ka ba makipagkaibigan?

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

—Saan mo gustong manirahan?

—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.

—Ano ang pinakamangmang na bagay na sinang-ayunan mong gawin?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Mayroon bang buhay pagkatapos ng kasal?

—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.

—Mayroon ka bang paboritong biro? Sabihin mo sa amin.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Mahilig ka ba sa mga aso at pusa?

—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.

—Sino o ano ang iyong kinasusuklaman?

—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.

—Ang pinakamahalagang bagay sa buhay ay:

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

—Ang pinakanakakainis na bagay sa buhay ay:

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

—Mayroong ba sa iyong paligid na nais mong baguhin?

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

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa iyong sarili?

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

—Ano ang nais mong baguhin sa 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.

—Maaari ka bang magbigay ng mga tip para sa mga photographer na nagsisimula pa lamang?

—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.

—Kung ang mga alien ay pumunta sa Earth at ikaw ang una nilang makikilala, ano ang sasabihin mo sakanila?

—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.

—Kung ikaw ay tatawagin upang mag-shoot ng pelikula, ano ang magiging kategorya nito?

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

—Bukas ako pupunta at gagawa...

—shoot a wedding!