Фотограф Ruud Claessen

—Чи ви фотогенічні?

—No! I much rather be behind a camera.

—Як ви опинилися у галузі фотографії?

—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.

—Якими, на вашу думку, є найголовніші складові гарної фотографії?

—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.

—Чи любите ви подорожувати?

—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.

—Що вам більш за все подобається у вашій професії?

—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.

—Що вам менш за все подобається у вашій професії?

—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.

—Яким буде майбутнє фотографії?

—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.

—Що робить жанр фотографії, в якому ви знімаєте, особливим?

—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.

—Як ви справляєтеся з критикою?

—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.

—Чи є якісь тренди у фотографії?

—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.

—Якими для клієнта повинні бути критерії вибору фотографа?

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

—Чого слід уникати при фотозйомці?

—'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.

—Які деталі, що, зазвичай, проходять непоміченими, може «зловити» фотограф?

—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.

—Що впливає на цінність фотографії? Якими є елементи цього?

—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.

—Яка людина, на вашу думку, може бути символом 21-го століття?

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

—Кого ви бажаєте сфотографувати?

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

—Чи маєте ви якісь професійні табу?

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

—З ким ви хотіли б пофотографувати?

—Too many to mention.

—Про що ви хвилюєтесь і чому?

—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.

—Який момент є найбільш вражаючим у вашому житті?

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

—Як ви визначаєте успіх? Як ви його вимірюєте?

—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.

—Ви надали б перевагу тому, щоб вас любили чи все-таки поважали?

—Liked by my clients, respected by my colleagues.

—Якою була найбільша помилка, якої ви припустилися на роботі?

—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.

—Коли ви збираєтесь у подорож, що ви берете з собою і чому?

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

—Чи є щось серед гаджетів, які вам належать, що ви воліли б краще не купувати? Чому?

—Nope.

—Як ви вчитесь робити гарніші знімки?

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

—Чиї роботи найбільше вплинули на вас, як на фотографа?

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

—Про яку одну річ ви хотіли б знати, коли розпочинали знімати фотографії?

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

—Що ви хочете сказати за допомогою ваших фотографій?

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

—Що мотивує вас продовжувати робити знімки?

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

—Чи вашим батькам варто було б бути більш чи менш суворими?

—They have been perfect.

—Якщо ви могли б повернутися назад у часі, що б ви зробили інакше?

—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.

—А як щодо життя на інших планетах?

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

—Хто є вашими героями?

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

—Кого ви не поважаєте?

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

—Чим ви займаєтесь у свій вільній час?

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

—Який ваш бік публіка ніколи не бачить?

—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.

—Коли ви повністю задоволені своєю роботою?

—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.

—Чи ви вірите у традиційні ролі чоловіків та жінок?

—Absolutely not.

—Чи ви легко заводите друзів?

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

—Де ви хотіли б жити?

—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.

—Який найбезглуздіший вчинок ви коли-небудь погодилися вчинити?

—In photography...or... ;-)

—Чи є життя після укладення шлюбу?

—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.

—Чи є у вас улюблений жарт? Розкажіть нам.

—I can't. It's too gross.

—Ви любите собак чи котів?

—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.

—Кого або що ви ненавидите?

—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.

—Найкраща річ у житті - це:

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

—Те, що найбільш дратує в житті:

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

—Чи є щось таке навколо вас, що б ви хотіли змінити?

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

—Що б ви хотіли змінити в собі?

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

—Що б ви хотіли змінити у світі?

—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.

—Чи могли б ви дати кілька порад фотографам, які тільки починають свій шлях?

—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.

—Якщо іншопланетяни завітають на Землю, і ви будете першою людиною, яку вони зустрінуть, що ви їм розповісте?

—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.

—Якщо вас запросять знімати кіно, якого жанру воно буде?

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

—Завтра я піду і...

—shoot a wedding!