Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Menno Klaasse

NAME: Menno Klaasse
WEBSITE : www.klaassephotography.com
CREW PROFILE : https://headshotcrew.com/Klaassephotography
INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/klaassephotography/
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/Klaassephotography
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menno-klaasse-8b03b21…

WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?

I was born and raised in The Hague in the Netherlands and met my wife, from Vancouver Canada, working on Cruise Ships in 2005. We moved to Vancouver in 2010 and have been living there since.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS?

I have been shooting headshots since March 2020 so almost one year.

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS?

I use 3 LED panels with a triangle setup and 2 black v-flats.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR STUDIO. DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? OR LIVE IN IT?

I have been setting up my home studio in our apartment and my wife and two kids Mika 6 and Luka 4 have been living in it. We're renting but looking to move to a bigger location so I can have a separate studio.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT?

I used to shoot newborns and family and pets but I really like to do portraits and diving into color grading and want to master that. Ivan Weiss has been a great inspiration.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC?

I first discovered Peter Hurley on Fstoppers where he was critiquing headshots. Then I watched all the videos he made.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT?

It took me 1 month after I saw Peter’s videos to sign up for the HSC. I remember my first submission in the Headshot of the Month and listen over and over again to Peter’s comments. It was terrifying to submit at first but so worth it.

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU?

Music is everything to me, as a kid, I grew up with my Dad's record collection in our living room. He played 60,70 and 80 music all day long. With a group of friends we used to hate popular top 40 music and started throwing parties in our student basement with underground house music. I had 2 technics turntables and bought new house records every week. The parties became so big we rented a club and started throwing house music parties in Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam. We were called Born2Groove in the days. As a group of friends, we did that every weekend besides our regular jobs. I DJ’d for over 5 years and miss those good old vinyl records and days.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU?

That I love to cook East Indian food and make one amazing Tandoori chicken.