攝影師 Ruud Claessen

—您上相嗎？

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—您如何開始從事攝影行業？

—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.

—您認為一張好照片裡最重要的元素有哪些？

—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.

—您熱愛旅行嗎？

—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.

—您最喜歡這個職業的哪個部分？

—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.

—您最不喜歡這個職業的哪個部分？

—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.

—攝影的前景如何？

—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.

—您擅長的攝影類型有什麼特別之處？

—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.

—您如何應對批評？

—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.

—攝影有什麼潮流？

—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.

—客戶選擇攝影師的標準有哪些？

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

—拍攝時應該避免哪些事項？

—'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.

—通常不會被注意，但攝影師卻能留意的細節有哪些呢？

—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.

—什麼事物會影響照片的價值？它包含了哪些因素？

—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.

—您認為哪個人可以被視為21世紀的代表人物？

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

—您想拍誰？

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

—您有任何職業禁忌嗎？

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

—您想和誰一起拍攝？

—Too many to mention.

—您會擔心什麼？為什麼？

—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.

—您人生中印象最深刻的一刻是什麼？

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

—您如何定義成功？您會怎麼衡量它？

—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.

—您是希望被喜愛或是被景仰呢？

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—您在工作上犯過最大的錯誤是什麼？

—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.

—當您要去旅行時，您會帶什麼？為什麼？

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

—在您擁有的物品中，有任何您希望沒買過的嗎？為什麼？

—Nope.

—您如何學習拍出更好的照片呢？

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

—身為攝影師，誰的作品對您影響最大？

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

—哪件事是您希望從開始拍照時就知道的？

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

—您想用自己的照片說些什麼？

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

—讓您持續拍照的動力是什麼？

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

—您的雙親應該更加或是更不嚴厲呢？

—They have been perfect.

—如果能回到過去，您會有什麼不同舉動呢？

—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.

—您對在其他星球上的生命有什麼看法呢？

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

—誰是您的英雄？

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

—您不重視誰？

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

—您空閒時會做些什麼？

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

—您的哪一面是公眾不曾看到過的？

—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.

—您什麼時候會對自己的作品完全滿意？

—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.

—您認可男女性的傳統角色嗎？

—Absolutely not.

—您容易交到朋友嗎？

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

—您希望在哪裡生活？

—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.

—您曾同意嘗試過最愚蠢的事是什麼？

—In photography...or... ;-)

—結婚後還有人生嗎？

—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.

—您有最愛的笑話嗎？請告訴我們。

—I can't. It's too gross.

—您喜歡狗還是貓？

—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.

—您討厭誰或什麼？

—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.

—人生中最棒的事是：

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

—人生中最煩人的事是：

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

—您的周圍有任何您想改變的事情嗎？

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

—您希望改變自己的哪一點？

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

—您希望改變世界的哪些方面？

—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.

—您能為新進攝影師提供一些建議嗎？

—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.

—如果外星人來到地球，而您是他們第一個遇見的人，您會跟他們說什麼？

—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.

—如果您被邀請去拍攝電影，那會是什麼類型的電影呢？

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

—明天我會去做...

—shoot a wedding!