William Rutten has been working as a photographer for 37 years, but if the jury member of ‘The perfect picture’ would participate in the program himself, he doubts whether he would win, he says on the eve of the second season of ‘The perfect picture on a journey’ .
This edition Jaap Jongbloed, Rick Brandsteder, Rob Dekay, YouTuber Wildebras, Leonie ter Braak, Tatum Dagelet, Numidia el Morabet and Eloïse van Oranje arm themselves with the camera and join us on a journey. The destination is South Africa, which offers great opportunities according to William Rutten. “Then you can show something different than a shoot in the water or in your bare ass. For example, we went to a township for the Mama’s project. I thought that was the most special assignment, it affected us all enormously. You sit with incredibly sweet people who have taken on the task of taking care of children, some of those children are disabled.”
Dangerous
The journey was not entirely risk-free. “We are not used to coming to places that are life-threatening, we were sometimes given security. Then you can’t walk around because otherwise you won’t come back or get robbed. We really experienced that.”
The popularity of The perfect picture surprised the makers at the time, says Rutten. “Nobody expected it. I was told we were going to make one season. There really weren’t high expectations because these kinds of programs never scored that well, but it did and that’s a real gift. The viewer has, I think, embraced it because everyone is into photography. We all buy a new phone because of the better camera. Photography is number 1 hobby in the world, that way viewers like to see people fumbling with a camera or they tune in to get a little creativity out of it.”
stress
According to Rutten, many people underestimate the assignments that the candidates receive. “It’s really great what they do. When I get an assignment, I often work on it 2 weeks in advance. You start thinking about it and preparing things. They get that assignment and then it’s: go and do it. Then there are also two camera crews walking around you who record everything and who are constantly in your shot. I wouldn’t even be able to do it myself with so much stress on it. I would find it very intimidating. We expected quite a lot from some people and then they completely shut down. It’s a nerve-wracking program. Showing creativity on television is quite intimate. You may not be as creative as people think you are. So it’s not just a party.”
He says he is often surprised by the level of the candidates. “I sometimes see pictures of which I think; I wish I had made it myself. Of course they also have great opportunities. You get to places where you usually don’t go. Or works with models you don’t normally work with. The best part is that at the end you have a portfolio with all your assignments. Then you can see for yourself what suits you. If you let me do this I wouldn’t be good at everything either. Shooting sports photography or car racing, that doesn’t suit me. You get so many different disciplines. You can’t be the best at everything, I wouldn’t just get nines either.”
Star photographer
The most frequently asked question to the star photographer is when there will be an edition with unknown people. “I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. These are people who are still used to appearing on television, otherwise there will be an additional stress level. But I think we would get a lot of registrations.”
His dearest wish is one All stars- season with all winners. “I think it would be great to put ten winners against each other. You can see that some have really continued to photograph. This is how Humberto has actually become a photographer, there will be a second book and an exhibition. I sometimes see Jim Bakkum and Kim Feenstra photographing, but not many keep it up. It is a profession in its own right.”
Wednesday g RTL4, 8.30 pm